HP also revealed Whitman's compensation package on Thursday. Like some other prominent CEOs, she will receive a base annual salary of $1. She will also get the option to buy more than 1.9 million shares of HP stock, many of which vest only if the value of the stock rises considerably. Whitman's bonus for 2012 will be between $2.4 million and $6 million.

At the time Apotheker took over, HP had just agreed to pay Mark Hurd, its previous CEO, more than $12 million. He was forced out following accusations of sexual harassment from a former marketing consultant for the company. His payout was about half of that received by Carly Fiorina, another embattled HP CEO, who got more than $21 million when she was forced out in 2005.

The IDG News Service