The Hewlett-Packard board remains under fire since the awkward departure of former CEO Mark Hurd, who joined top competitor Oracle following a mini-scandal over his relationship with a former consultant.

Four directors--Joel Hyatt, John Joyce, Robert Ryan and Lucille Salhany--stepped off the H-P board in favor of some new blood. Five new director candidates were put forward immediately and all five will stand for election in two months.

The newcomers: Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay; Shumeet Banerji, CEO of Booz & Co.; Gary Reiner, former CIO of General Electric; Patricia Russo, former CEO of Alcatel-Lucent; and Dominique Senequier, CEO of AXA Private Equity.

The new directors have already raised brows, as Bloomberg reports that all have strong ties to the new H-P CEO, Leo Apothekar. However, the chairman of the board, Ray Lane, defended the moves and denied the relationships were too cozy. Still, this was not the start the reconstituted board was hoping for. 

"There's not a person in the investment community today who's not dissatisfied with the board of directors at Hewlett-Packard and who doesn't scratch their head whenever they make a decision," one equity analyst told the Los Angeles Times.

For more:
- here's the Bloomberg article

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