HP Shareholders OK Board Without Hewlett

Hewlett-Packard Co. shareholders approved a slate of board members that doesn’t include Walter Hewlett, the dissident director who waged a proxy fight and sued the computer maker over its planned purchase of rival Compaq Computer Corp.

The new board is “exceedingly independent and well-qualified,” Chief Executive Carly Fiorina told investors at the company’s annual meeting in Cupertino, Calif.

Hewlett, the son of co-founder William Hewlett, had been a director for 15 years and was the only heir of the founding families left on the board.

Shares of Hewlett-Packard fell 42 cents to $16.96 on the NYSE.