Ralph Whitworth, a veteran shareholder activist, has been appointed interim chairman.

BBC: Hewlett-Packard chairman Raymond Lane steps down

Things got even livelier when a third giant of the crusade for better corporate governance Ralph Whitworth, an activist investor joined in the argument on Mr Ross Goobey's side.

ECONOMIST: Two losses in the fight for good governance

Ralph Whitworth, 50, a founder and principal of the San Diego asset management firm Relational Investors, was a Roth fan while growing up in Winnemucca, Nevada in the early 1960s.

FORBES: Rat Fink Renaissance

Ralph Whitworth, 50, a founder and principal of the San Diego asset management firm Relational Investors, was a Roth fan while growing up in Winnemucca, Nev. in the early 1960s.

FORBES: Magazine Article

An example of this new approach was the appointment of Ralph Whitworth, an institutional investor with a reputation for activism, to the board of Apria Healthcare last year and more recently as chairman of Waste Management, a troubled company.

ECONOMIST: Thank you and goodbye