Hewlett-Packard Names Meg Whitman CEO

Score one for the rumor mill: Hewlett-Packard waited for the markets to close, then named Meg Whitman its new CEO, effective immediately, reports Bloomberg. The former eBay exec, recently off a failed bid to be California governor, will take over for Leo Apotheker, who resigned under pressure after 11 lackluster months. He had lowered the company's financial outlook after three successive quarters, notes the Wall Street Journal.

"Meg is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution," says the board's newly named executive chairman, Ray Lane. "As a member of HP's board of directors for the past eight months, Meg has a solid understanding of our products and markets." She is the fourth CEO in 13 months, adds MarketWatch. (Remember Mark Hurd?) It's still unclear whether H-P will move ahead with Apotheker's plan to spin off the PC business. (More Hewlett Packard stories.)