Apotheker's exit payout dwarfs HP's new CEO

Hewlett Packard Co will pay ousted CEO Leo Apotheker nearly $10 million in severance and bonuses and let him keep 156,000 restricted shares, a hefty payout for an 11-month term that saw HP's share price dive 45 percent. In contrast, HP will pay new CEO Meg Whitman a base salary of just $1 per year. She, however, has the option to buy 1.9 million of the company's shares and is eligible for a performance bonus of $2.4 million in 2012, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

On his way to the bank

Apotheker -- fired this month after repeatedly slashing sales forecasts and angering investors with a pricey acquisition of Autonomy -- gets a $7.2 million severance payout and also a $2.4 million annual bonus under the company's 2005 "pay-for-results plan". In addition, he will be reimbursed for relocating to France or Belgium, and compensated for any losses on the sale of his residence in California. Whitman joins a club of high-profile CEOs who have drawn the dollar-a-year salary, which include Apple's Steve Jobs, Yahoo Inc founder Jerry Yang and Google executives Larry Page, Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin. HP's shares closed up 2.5 percent at $23.78 on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.