HP got a new CEO?! Meg Whitman replacing Leo Apotheker rumors

Former eBay CEO and former California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman may be on deck for the top slot at Hewlett-Packard, if anonymous sources and current rumors  are right.

Current CEO Léo Apotheker has been at the post for about a year, but the company has had a run of bad luck in recent months. Hp Stock dropped 43% also another reason to believe the rumors.

In considering Ms. Whitman, H-P is looking to a Silicon Valley veteran who turned eBay Inc. from a quirky start-up into the world's leading online auction company and who remains an influential figure in the technology scene as an H-P director and an adviser to a leading venture-capital firm.

But the former eBay chief executive also has little background in the hardware industry, never ran a company of H-P's size, made some missteps at eBay and most recently drew attention for a failed bid to become governor of California.

In an interview Monday, Ms. Meg Whitman, 55, described H-P as "a Silicon Valley icon that is the process of reshaping itself." She acknowledged that the Palo Alto, Calif., company "has certainly had challenges" and that "time will tell" how it fares, but she added, "I'm optimistic about H-P's future."

In addition to stock losses and the webOS problems, the company also had to lay off 100,000 workers in the Palm division. Prior to Leo Apotheker’s appointment, former CEO Mark Hurd resigned under pressure after a sexual harassment investigation as well as various accusations about expense reports related to the claim. The board found no evidence to support the harassment claims.

So far the rumor is not acknowledged or commented by HP nor Whitma. Only the future and futher days can prove it right or wrong.