Under-fire HP CEO Leo Apotheker. Photo Credit: Tom Raftery/Flickr.

Hewlett-Packard saw its shares rise in value yesterday as rumours surfaced that its current CEO Leo Apotheker could be shown the door.

Apotheker, former CEO of German business software maker SAP AG, was appointed as HP’s CEO last year but reports suggest that confidence in him from investors and the board alike is on the wane.

The board of the American technology giant HP met yesterday to discuss Apotheker’s future. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who is herself on the board of directors, is thought to be the leading contender to replace him. The news was met with widespread approval on the stock market yesterday, with shares rising by 6.6 per cent by the close of play.

Under Apotheker, HP’s sales forecasts have been consistently cut back while its tablet product was axed only weeks after its launch due to poor sales.

The company announced last month that it was considering ceasing to make PCs to focus on developing software and cloud services instead. However, Apotheker has thus far failed in his attempt to shift the focus of the company from manufacturing hardware to software. He backtracked on promises to integrate Palm's webOS software into devices and, as a provider, HP has not as yet made serious inroads into the cloud market.

If given the proverbial boot, Apotheker would be the third CEO to be ousted by HP’s board of directors. His predecessor Mark Hurd left following a scandal involving expense reports and Carly Fiorina, who preceded Hurd, was fired after the purchase of Compaq.

HP has refused to comment on Apotheker’s position or any potential replacements.