Leo Apotheker was made the president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard on September 30, 2010. Today, just shy of a year later, he has stepped down from his post and HP’s board of directors appointed Meg Whitman as his replacement. Big surprise, right?

Under the leadership of Apotheker, HP’s stock lost nearly half of its value, basically squandered Mark Hurds’ $1.2 billion investment in Palm and announced that the company was considering cancelling or spinning off its consumer PC business. In short, HP lost its way within the last 357 days.

This move is hardly unexpected as it was rumored extensively over the last week. Meg Whitman was previously the head of ebay and joined HP’s board of directors in January 2011. She also sits on the boards of Procter & Gamble, Zipcar and Teach for America.

In a statement released by HP today, Whitman stated, ” “I am honored and excited to lead HP. I believe HP matters – it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world.”

Sounds good to us, Meg. Do Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard a solid though and don’t abandon their original mission. Keep the PC business and promote a start-up feel throughout the massive HP machine. Don’t forget the company you now lead was founded in a Palo Alto garage.

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