Meg is down a peg at HP amid Uber rumors

Meg Whitman stepped down as chairman and left the board of HP Inc., further distancing her corporate-computing company from the PC and printer businesses it split off in 2015.

Whitman, who is chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, has served as HP chairman since the two companies were formed in the breakup of one of Silicon Valley’s oldest firms almost two years ago. Chip Bergh, CEO of Levi Strauss and lead independent director of the HP board since March, will succeed Whitman, the company said.

For Whitman, formerly CEO of eBay and a onetime Republican nominee for California governor, stepping down as chairman reduces the remaining ties between her company, which sells servers and storage gear, and HP, which has been gaining momentum on its own in recent months. The PC and printer company has reported four straight quarters of sales that topped estimates.

“HP has now been a standalone company for almost two years and I’m proud to have helped get the company off to a great start,” Whitman said. “The HP board is among the most diverse in our industry, and the company has established a proven track record of successfully delivering on its commitments.”

Whitman has also been mentioned as a candidate to fill the top role at Uber, the ride-hailing giant that ousted founder Travis Kalanick last month.

The former eBay boss has been meeting with Uber’s leadership in recent weeks, sources said earlier this week. A spokesman for HPE said she intends to remain at the Palo Alto, Calif.-based technology company.