HP board of directors appointed former CEO of eBay Meg Whitman as its president and CEO. The company's previous CEO L├®o Apoteker has stepped down, HP said Thursday.

Whitman ÔÇô who made the news in 2010 when she ran to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California and lost to Jerry Brown ÔÇô has been a member of HP's board for the past eight months.

Apotheker also resigned as the company'director and the board decided to hire an independent director. The company has not announced who will fill that role.

Ray Lane, the board's newly appointed executive chairman, said HP was "fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman's caliber and experience step up to lead HP. We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead."

Lane went on to call Whitman a "technology visionary" and a "strong communicator" with "deep leadership capabilities."

Commenting on Apotheker's resignation, Lane said the board appreciated his efforts at HP since he joined in 2010, but believed the job required "additional attributes to successfully execute on the company's strategy."

Apotheker was appointed as HP's CEO in October 2010, following the ouster of his predecessor Mark Hurd, who got caught up in a sex scandal. He was accused of sexual harassment ÔÇô of which investigators found no evidence ÔÇô and filing inaccurate expense reports.

Hurd went on to become president at Oracle, whose founder and CEO Larry Ellison publicly attacked HP's board for firing his friend.