Former HP CEO Apotheker to get more than $US9.6 million

Outgoing Hewlett-Packard CEO, Leo Apotheker, will get a severance payment of $US7.2 million, plus a $2.4 million performance bonus and additional stock benefits, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

Apotheker was recently ousted from the top post at HP after spending just 11 months on the job. Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, has taken over. She will receive a base salary of just $1 per year, the regulatory filing shows.

Apotheker made several decisions during his tenure that drew criticism, including one to spin off HP's PC division, which it announced before it had found a buyer. HP missed its financial targets for the past three quarters and its stock dropped by nearly half while Apotheker was CEO.

In addition to the severance and bonus payments, he was awarded accelerated vesting of stock grants worth $3.5 million, according to the filing. He is also eligible for funds to relocate back to France or Belgium, and up to $300,000 for any losses he incurs selling his California home.

When Apotheker signed on to the job, he agreed to a base salary of $1.2 million and an annual bonus of 200 percent to 500 percent of his salary. He received hundreds of thousands of shares under various stock plans.

Apotheker also received a $4 million signing bonus and an additional $4.6 million for relocation expenses and other payments.

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.

Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy's email address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com

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