Hewlett-Packard Co director Ralph Whitworth told shareholders on Wednesday to expect "some evolution" in the company's board in coming years or even months, responding to criticism over the botched $11 billion acquisition of British software firm Autonomy Plc.

Whitworth, who runs activist hedge fund Relational Investors LLC and was named to the board of the struggling Silicon Valley computing company in 2011, said shareholders could expect some changes, but he also defended HP's board, saying it was among the best he had seen.

At the company's annual meeting in Mountain View, Whitworth acknowledged that HP's investors have "rightfully" questioned some of the transactions the company has made.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by David Gregorio)