Who is Carly Fiorina?
Carleton S. (Carly) Fiorina is chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Company. HP is a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services and is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to all. Since joining HP in July 1999, Fiorina has led HP’s reinvention as a company that makes the Internet work for businesses and consumers. Under her leadership, HP has returned to its roots of innovation and inventiveness and is focused on delivering the best total customer experience. Prior to joining HP, she spent nearly 20 years at AT&T and Lucent Technologies, where she held a number of senior leadership positions in sales and marketing. As president of Lucent’s Global Service Provider Business, she expanded the company’s international business and spearheaded the planning and execution of its initial public offering and subsequent spin-off from AT&T. Fiorina holds a bachelor’s degree in medieval history and philosophy from Stanford Universi
Among all the women currently at the top, Carly Fiorina is the woman with all eyes on her. Prior to capturing the position of CEO at HP, Fiorina vaulted into the spotlight of what was being called the communications revolution by leading the spins-off of AT&Ts, 120,000 employee equipment arm, Lucent Technology (Black & Tsao).
But, part of her value to McCain is likey that she’s well-spoken and very telegenic. Now deputed as the “RNC Victory Chairwoman,” Fiorina was a diva of the “new economy” of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. As the CEO of Hewlett-Packard between 1999-2005, Fiorina regularly appeared on the financial channels spouting unalloyed “new economy” gibberish. I once asked my sister-in-law–at the time a HP executive–what Fiorina meant when she waxed rhapsodic about “synergistic strategies across mulitple platforms.” After all, the centerpiece of Fiorina’s business plan–swallowing a moribund PC maker (Compaq) at the cost of core competencies–didn’t seem particularly “synergistic” or new. My sister-in-law just shrugged her shoulders. What was new during Fiorina’s tenure? As the company’s fortunes soured, Fiorina broke with a fundamental article of faith at HP and authorized–for the first time in the company’s history–large layoffs. At her direction, over 7,000 HP employees were let go. Event
