Former HP chairman Patricia Dunn dies

Former Hewlett-Packard chairman Patricia Dunn, died on Sunday, according to her husband.

Dunn, 58, whose tenure at HP was marked by a controversial boardroom spying scandal, died of ovarian cancer, her husband, William Jahnke, told Reuters.

"Pattie Dunn worked tirelessly for the good of HP. We are saddened by the news of her passing, and our thoughts go out to her family on their loss," HP said in an emailed statement on Monday.

Dunn started her career as an entry-level secretarial assistant and rose through the ranks to become chief executive at Barclay's Global Advisors in 1998. She was listed among Fortune magazine's annual list of most powerful women in business.

She was diagnosed with three forms of cancer during a three-year span that began in 2002, according to her husband.

Dunn joined HP's board in 1998 and became chairman in 2005. Her role there was clouded by a controversial investigation into boardroom leaks in 2005 and 2006, in which private investigators hired by HP accessed personal phone records of employees, journalists and HP directors.

The investigation led to Dunn's resignation in 2006 and resulted in California's Attorney-General filing criminal charges against Dunn and four others. The charges against Dunn were eventually dropped by a California judge.

"I have always had faith that the truth would win out and justice would be served -- and it has been," Dunn said in a statement after the charges were dropped.