Could Carly be on Her Way Out?

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors discussed shifting some
day-to-day responsibilities from CEO Carly Fiorina to other executives
in an effort to improve the technology giant's performance, according
to a published report Monday.

The Wall Street
Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the board discussed granting more
control to three senior executives at its annual planning meeting that
took place between Jan. 12 and Jan. 15 in San Francisco.

Fiorina's
job is not in question, one source told the newspaper. "But she
shouldn't be running everything every day," the person told the
Journal. "She is very hands on, and that slows things down."

HP said the report was speculation.

"Boards
discuss a wide range of topics consistent with their fiduciary
responsibilities, and any speculation about these discussions is just
that -- pure speculation," HP spokesman Bob Sherbin said in a brief
statement.

The board did make structural changes at a recent
meeting, he added, but those were announced Jan. 14. That's when HP
said it was combining its highly profitable imaging and printing
division with its personal computer unit.

"There are no other senior changes due in the near future," Sherbin said.

In
the Jan. 14 move, printer chief Vyomesh Joshi was named to lead the
combined group. Joshi also was identified as one of the three
executives who would gain more day-to-day responsibilities under the
scenario that was discussed by the board.

The other executives
who could take on more responsibilities include Ann Livermore, who
heads the services and enterprise computing division, and Shane
Robison, HP's chief technology and strategy officer.

Fiorina,
named HP's first outside chief executive in 1999, dramatically cut the
number of its business units and shifted more executive authority to
the CEO's office. She also led HP's contentious $19 billion merger with
Compaq Computer Corp. in 2002.

Though revenues have doubled since
Fiorina arrived, in part due to the Compaq merger, profits have only
just returned to levels not seen since the tech bubble burst.

Performance
also has been uneven. In August, it missed fiscal third-quarter
expectations and blamed a new internal computer system as well as other
execution problems. Three executives were fired.

But HP turned
around in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Oct. 31, with earnings
rising 26.5 percent to $1.09 billion and sales up 8 percent to $21.39
billion.

Still, HP shares are down about 55 percent since
Fiorina's arrival -- significantly more than chief rivals IBM Corp. and
Dell Inc.

Shares of HP fell 10 cents to close at $19.89 in Monday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.