In what apparently is computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP)'s latest attempt to move past the controversial August 2010 ouster of its CEO mark Hurd, the company Thursday announced that it was shuffling its board of directors.

In its announcement, HP disclosed that four members of its board members - Joel Hyatt, John Joyce, Robert Ryan and Lucille Salhany - were stepping down; and five new directors were being appointed.

Two of the departing HP board members, Ryan and Salhany, largely oversaw an investigation of Hurd's conduct, after a woman conductor accused him of sexual harassment. The investigation concluded that though Hurd had not violated HP's sexual-harassment policy, he was guilty of a misstatement of expenses and concealed meetings with the contractor.

Noting that Hurd's removal "took a lot out of this board," the board's chairman Ray Lane said that the four departing board members had quit voluntarily; and that he "couldn't single out someone who should go."

Meanwhile, the five new board members named by HP include: Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay and the unsuccessful 2010 Republican candidate for California governor; Gary Reiner, ex-chief information officer of General Electric Co.; Shumeet Banerji, CEO of consulting firm Booz & Co.; Patricia Russo, ex-CEO of Alcatel-Lucent; and Dominique Senequier, CEO of AXA Private Equity.

As a result of the change, the total number of directors at HP - which will hold its annual meeting for shareholders on March 23 - has gone up to 13.