HP Board Chairman Patricia Dunn is under fire.

Mark Hurd, the company's chief executive officer and president, will succeed Dunn and retain his existing positions. Dunn will continue to serve as a director.

Richard Hackborn, who has served on the board since 1992, has been designated lead independent director, effective in January, according to the company.

Dunn has been under fire for authorizing an investigation of company directors who allegedly leaked board deliberations.

The California-based Hewlett-Packard, the world's second largest maker of personal computers, hired investigators in mid-2005 to determine the source of the leakage. The investigators were said to have used fake identities to obtain the phone records of directors and nine journalists.

"Unfortunately, the investigation, which was conducted with third parties, included certain inappropriate techniques. These went beyond what we understood them to be, and I apologize that they were employed," Dunn said in a statement

"I am taking action to ensure that inappropriate investigative techniques will not be employed again. They have no place in HP," Hurd said.

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