"We are fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman's caliber and experience step up to lead HP," said the California-based company in a statement.

　　"We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead," said the troubled tech giant.

　　It noted that the job of the HP CEO now requires additional attributes to successfully execute on the company's strategy, adding Whitman "has the right operational and communication skills and leadership abilities to deliver improved execution and financial performance."

　　"I am honored and excited to lead HP. I believe HP matters -- it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world," said Whitman in a statement.

　　Whitman, 55, joined the HP board in January and served as president and CEO of eBay from 1998 to 2008, when she led the company through its initial public offering and massive growth.

　　During her last years at eBay, she is blamed for not being able to halt the sales slowdown and overpaying for the 2005 acquisition of Skype with 4.1 billion dollars. In 2009, Skype was sold by eBay at a valuation of 2.75 billion dollars.

　　Whitman won the Republican nomination for governor of California in 2010. She lost the election to Gov. Jerry Brown after spending more than 140 million dollars of her own fortune on the campaign. Enditem

　　HP said the appointments are effective immediately, following the decision that Apotheker stepped down as president and CEO and resigned as a director of the company.

　　Multiple U.S. media reported on Wednesday that Apotheker was to be ousted, sending HP shares soaring on the market and in the after-hour trading.

　　Apotheker, 58, was named HP CEO 11 months ago to replace Mark Hurd, who was ousted due to a scandal over a personal relationship with a company contractor and then became co-president of Oracle. Before HP, Apotheker had served as CEO of German software giant SAP for 10 months.

　　On Aug. 18, Apotheker announced that HP will shut down its mobile business, spin off its core personal computer business and transfer into a cloud-based software and services provider for businesses including a 10.3 billion-dollar acquisition of British software company Autonomy.

　　Shares of the company plunged 20 percent the following day, the worst one-day loss since Black Monday in 1987.

　　On Sept. 30, 2010, the day before Apotheker's appointment as HP CEO, the tech giant's stock closed at 42.04 dollars. On Tuesday, the price closed at 22.47 dollars, a decrease of 46.6 percent in less than a year.

　　On Monday, HP was reported to begin sending over 500 employees pink slips in the WebOS division, after announcing to stop making WebOS devices in August.