Hewlett-Packard's chairwoman Patricia Dunn is to step down after the computer maker became embroiled in an espionage scandal that has sparked legal investigations.
Dunn, who is to resign early next year, apologised after private detectives she had hired to investigate boardroom leaks to the media 'went beyond' their mandate.
HP said that its chief executive officer and president, Mark Hurd, would succeed Dunn as chairman at a board meeting on January 18.
The California state attorney general's office and federal prosecutors are investigating whether the private eyes hired by HP broke the law by impersonating board members and journalists to get private telephone records. Dunn, 53, has denied authorising illicit tactics.
