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Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina ('' née'' Sneed; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). As
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of HP from 1999 to 2005, Fiorina was the first woman to lead a ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' Top-20 company. In 2002, Fiorina oversaw what was then the largest technology sector merger in history, in which HP acquired rival
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
manufacturer,
Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...
. The transaction made HP the world's largest seller of personal computers. HP subsequently laid off 30,000 U.S. employees. Nonetheless, the number of employees exceeded the pre-merger figure and grew to 150,000 during her tenure.Goldman, David
"Behind Carly Fiorina's 30,000 HP layoffs"
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(September 21, 2015): "She has also notedcorrectlythat despite bruising layoffs, she hired more people than she fired. HP and Compaq had a combined 148,100 employees just before she was hired in 1999, and 150,000 by the time she was fired in 2005."
In February 2005, she was forced to resign as CEO and chair following a boardroom disagreement. She subsequently served as Chair of the philanthropic organization
Good360 Good360 is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Alexandria, Virginia. The organization's mission is to transform lives by finding hope and possibilities for individuals, families, and communities who have been impacted by disaster or ot ...
. Fiorina ran unsuccessfully for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
in 2010 and the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Fiorina was an adviser to
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Senator John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
's 2008 presidential campaign. In 2010, she won the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in California, but lost the general election to incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. Fiorina was a candidate in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, and was for seven days the vice-presidential running mate of
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
until he suspended his
campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...
.


Early life and education

Cara Carleton Sneed was born on September 6, 1954, in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, the daughter of Madelon Montross (née Juergens) and
Joseph Tyree Sneed III Joseph Tyree Sneed III (July 21, 1920 – February 9, 2008) was a Republican United States Deputy Attorney General and then a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for nearly 35 years until his de ...
. The name "Carleton", from which "Carly" is derived, has been used in every generation of the Sneed family since the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. At the time of her birth, Fiorina's father was a professor at the
University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...
. He would later become dean of
Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit t ...
, Deputy U.S. Attorney General, and judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
. Her mother was an
abstract painter Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19t ...
. She is mainly of English and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
ancestry, and was raised Episcopalian. Her paternal great-great-great-grandfather, Joseph P. Sneed, was a Methodist minister and educator in Texas. Her paternal great-great-great-great-uncle built the
Constantine Sneed House The Constantine Sneed House, also known as Windy Hill, is a historic mansion in Brentwood, Tennessee. It was one of four houses built by the Sneed family on the Old Smyrna Road. Witaccompanying 10 photos from 1987/ref> History The mansion was ...
in Brentwood, Tennessee, which is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. Carly was a Brownie but did not become a
Girl Scout Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
due to her family's frequent moves. She attended Channing School, in London. She later attended five different high schools, including one in
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, graduating from Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina. At one time she aspired to be a classical
pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
. She received a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in philosophy and medieval history at Stanford University, in 1976. During her summers, she worked as a secretary for
Kelly Services Kelly Services, Inc. (formerly Russell Kelly Office Service and Kelly Girl Service, Inc.) is an American office staffing company that operates globally. The company places employees at all levels in various sectors including financial services, ...
. She attended the
UCLA School of Law The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...
in 1976, but dropped out after one semester. She worked as a receptionist for six months at a real estate firm,
Marcus & Millichap Marcus & Millichap, Inc. is an American company that provides real estate brokerage, mortgage brokerage, research, and advisory services in the U.S. and Canada in the field of commercial property. It popularized the practice of listing properties ...
, moving up to a broker position. When she married in 1977, she and her husband moved to
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, where he was doing graduate work; there she did English tutoring to Italian businessmen. In 1980, Fiorina received a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
, in marketing, from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
. In 1989 she obtained a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
degree in management from the
MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...
, under the
Sloan Fellows The Sloan Fellows program is the world's first mid-career and senior career master's degree in general management and leadership. It was initially supported by a grant from Alfred P. Sloan, the late CEO of General Motors, to his alma mater, MIT ...
program.


Business career


AT&T and Lucent

In 1980, Fiorina joined
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
as a management trainee, selling telephone services to big federal agencies. In 1990, she became the company's first female officer as senior vice president overseeing the company's hardware and systems division, eventually heading its North American operations. In 1995, Fiorina led corporate operations for Lucent Technologies, Inc., a spin-off from AT&T of its Western Electric and
Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial Research and development, research and scientific developm ...
divisions into a new company. In that capacity, she reported to Lucent chief executive Henry B. Schacht. She played a key role in planning and implementing the 1996
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
of a successful stock and company launch strategy. The spin-off became one of the most successful IPOs in U.S. history, raising 3 billion. Later in 1996, Fiorina was appointed president of Lucent's consumer products sector. In 1997, she was named group president for Lucent's 19 billion global service-provider business, overseeing marketing and sales for the company's largest customer segment. That year, Fiorina chaired a 2.5 billion joint venture between Lucent's consumer communications and
Royal Philips Electronics Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...
, under the name Philips Consumer Communications (PCC). In the edition of October 12, 1998, of ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' magazine, Fiorina was named "The Most Powerful Woman in American Business". Lucent added 22,000 jobs and revenues grew from US$19 billion to US$38 billion and the company's market share increased in every region for every product. According to Fortune magazine, Lucent increased sales by lending money to their own customers, writing that "In a neat bit of accounting magic, money from the loans began to appear on Lucent's income statement as new revenue while the dicey debt got stashed on its balance sheet as an allegedly solid asset". Lucent's stock price grew 10-fold.


Hewlett-Packard (HP)


Hiring

In July 1999,
Hewlett-Packard Company The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
named Fiorina chief executive officer, succeeding Lewis Platt and prevailing over the internal candidate Ann Livermore. Matthew Boyle of ''Fortune'' magazine said of Fiorina's hiring as HP's first woman CEO that, "Carly Fiorina didn't just break the
glass ceiling A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Full ...
, she obliterated it, as the first woman to lead a FORTUNE 20 company." Writing in ''Fortune'' magazine in August 2015,
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (born 1 April 1954) is the Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at Yale School of Management, and Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies. Sonnenfeld is best known as the founder and CEO of Chief Executive ...
described the hiring as the result of "a dysfunctional HP board committee, filled with its own poisoned politics, hired her with no CEO experience, nor interviews with the full board." Fiorina received a larger signing offer than any of her predecessors, including: 65 million in restricted stock to compensate her for the Lucent stock and options she left behind, a 3 million signing bonus, a 1 million annual salary (plus a 1.25–3.75 million annual bonus), 36,000 in mortgage assistance, a relocation allowance, and permission (and encouragement) to use company planes for personal affairs. Fortune also named her the most powerful woman in America for five consecutive years.


Separating Agilent Technologies from HP and proposed PWC acquisition

Although the decision to spin off the company's analytical instruments division pre-dated her arrival, one of her first major responsibilities as chief executive was overseeing the separation of the unit into the stand-alone
Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American life sciences company that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for the entire laboratory workflow. Its global headquarters is located in Santa Clara, California. Agilent was establi ...
. Fiorina proposed the acquisition of the technology services arm of
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
for almost 14 billion, but withdrew the bid after a lackluster reception from Wall Street. Following the collapse of the
dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
, the PwC consulting arm was acquired by IBM for less than 4 billion. HP later acquired Electronic Data Systems, another technology services company, which some considered a validation of Fiorina's strategy.


Compaq merger

In early September 2001, in the wake of the bursting of the
Tech Bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
, Fiorina announced the acquisition of PC maker Compaq with 25 billion in stock, which, at the time, was the second largest producer of personal computers, after Dell. HP stock traded down by 30% on the news of the merger. The Compaq merger created the world's largest personal computer manufacturer in terms of units shipped. Fiorina was frequently at odds with HP's board of directors, and she had to fight with the board for the merger. Walter Hewlett (the son of company co-founder William Hewlett) was a source of particularly strong opposition. Hewlett originally voted with the other board members to approve the Compaq deal, but he later changed his mind. He launched a
proxy fight A proxy fight, proxy contest or proxy battle (sometimes even called a proxy war) is an unfriendly contest for the control over an organization. The event usually occurs when a corporation's stockholders develop opposition to some aspect of the corp ...
against Fiorina's efforts which Fiorina won with a "razor-thin margin" of 51.4% of the shareholders, with the institutional shareholders providing the bulk of the support. Fiorina was supported in the proxy battle by other board members, including Richard Hackborn,
Philip M. Condit Philip Murray Condit (born August 2, 1941) is an American engineer and businessman who was Chair and Chief executive officer (CEO) of the Boeing company from 1996 to 2003. He dramatically reshaped the company by Merger with McDonnell Douglas and r ...
, George A. Keyworth, II, and Robert Knowling. Fiorina proceeded to reorganize HP and merge the parts of it that she kept with Compaq. The merger was met initially with almost universal skepticism. The February 7, 2005 issue of ''Fortune'' described her merger plan as "failing" and the prognosis as "doubtful". Business professor Robert Burgelman and former HP executive vice president, Webb McKinney, who led HP's post-merger integration team, analyzed the merger and concluded that it was ultimately successful. In 2008, former acting CEO of Compaq Ben Rosen stated that although Fiorina lacked the skills to run the merged company, her successors made it work. HP was able to integrate Compaq's operations and emerge as the world's largest seller of personal computers. The industry soon fell into decline, leading to further difficulties for the company. HP eventually wrote off 1.2 billion from the acquisition as the personal computer market declined. Looking back, a 2011 ''The New York Times'' article described it as "one of the more questionable deals of the time."


Allegations of sales to Iran despite sanctions

In 1997, prior to Fiorina's joining the company, HP's Dutch subsidiary formed a partnership with a company in Dubai, Redington Gulf, which sold HP's products in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Under Fiorina's leadership at HP, the company sold millions of dollars worth of printers and computer products to Iran through the foreign subsidiary, while U.S. export sanctions were in effect. After the story was initially reported by ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' in 2008, the SEC sent a letter of inquiry to HP, who responded that products worth 120 million were sold in fiscal 2008 arguing that the sales did not violate export sanctions because they were made through a foreign subsidiary. According to former officials who worked on sanctions, HP was using a loophole by routing their sales through a foreign subsidiary. HP ended its relationship with Redington Gulf after the SEC inquiry.


Providing HP servers to the NSA

In a September 2015 interview with
Michael Isikoff Michael Isikoff (born June 16, 1952) is an American investigative journalist who is currently the Chief Investigative Correspondent at Yahoo! News. He is the co-author with David Corn of the book titled '' Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Pu ...
, Fiorina said that, in the weeks following the
September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
in 2001, she received a phone call from Michael Hayden, then the
director of the National Security Agency The director of the National Security Agency (DIRNSA) is the highest-ranking official of the National Security Agency, which is a defense agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. The director of the NSA also concurrently serves as the Chie ...
, asking her assistance in providing HP computer servers to the NSA for expanded surveillance.Michael Isikoff
Carly Fiorina defends Bush-era torture and spying, calls for more transparency
Yahoo News (September 28, 2015).
Hayden confirmed that he had made the request for HP servers as part of Stellar Wind, a 2001–2007 NSA warrantless surveillance program, but the details were not revealed to Fiorina at the time. Fiorina "acknowledged she complied with Hayden's request, redirecting trucks of HP computer servers that were on their way to retail stores from a warehouse in Tennessee to the Washington Beltway, where they were escorted by NSA security" to the agency's
Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the ...
headquarters. In 2015, Fiorina said: "I felt it was my duty to help, and so we did," adding, "They were ramping up a whole set of programs and needed a lot of data crunching capability to try and monitor a whole set of threats. ... What I knew at the time was our nation had been attacked." Hayden also requested that Fiorina provide advice to the agency "on how the CIA could maintain its undercover espionage mission in a culture of increasing government leaks and demands for greater public accountability and openness." According to Fiorina, she advised the agency to be "as transparent as possible, about as much as possible".


Changes to HP culture

Fiorina's predecessor at HP had pushed for an outsider to replace him because he believed that the company had become complacent and that consensus-driven decision making was inhibiting the company's growth. Fiorina instituted three major changes shortly after her arrival: replacing profit sharing with bonuses awarded if the company met financial expectations, a reduction in operating units from 83 to 12, and consolidating back-office functions. Fiorina faced a backlash among HP employees and the tech community for her leading role in the demise of HP's egalitarian " The HP Way" work culture and guiding philosophy, which she felt hindered innovation. Because of changes to HP's culture, and requests for voluntary pay cuts to prevent layoffs (subsequently followed by the largest layoffs in HP's history), employee satisfaction surveys at HPpreviously among the highest in Americarevealed "widespread unhappiness" and distrust, and Fiorina was sometimes booed at company meetings and attacked on HP's electronic bulletin board. According to ''
The Fiscal Times ''The Fiscal Times'' (TFT) is an English-language digital news, news analysis and opinion publication based in New York City and Washington, D.C. It was founded in 2010 with initial funding from businessman and investment banker Peter G. Peters ...
'', Fiorina and others have argued that she "laid the groundwork for some of HP's progress under her successors", and that she shook the culture at HP so that it could compete in the Internet Age.


iPod+HP

In January 2004, Fiorina announced an agreement with
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
founder Steve Jobs for the
iPod+HP The Apple iPod+HP was a line of Hewlett-Packard-branded iPods, distributed through HP. On January 8, 2004, Carly Fiorina announced the Apple iPod+HP deal at the Consumer Electronics Show. The first device of the iPod+HP line was the fourth-gene ...
a
co-branded Co-branding is a marketing strategy that involves strategic alliance of multiple brand names jointly used on a single product or service. Co-branding is an arrangement that associates a single product or service with more than one brand name, o ...
iPod sold through HP's retail channels. As part of the agreement, HP was forbidden from selling a competitor to the iPod until August 2006 and HP agreed to pre-install iTunes on every computer sold. Two days before Fiorina announced the HP+iPod, Jobs announced a new product, the
iPod mini The iPod Mini (stylized and marketed as the iPod mini) is a discontinued, smaller digital audio player that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. While it was sold, it was the midrange model in Apple's iPod product line. It was announced o ...
, catching Fiorina off guard. HP did not sell the newer versions of the iPod in a timely fashion, leaving them to sell an outdated device for several months. In addition, Apple began selling its own iPods through the same retail channels. As a result, at the peak of the program, iPod+HP sales represented only a small portion of total iPod sales. In July 2005, soon after Fiorina resigned as CEO, her successor
Mark Hurd Mark Vincent Hurd (January 1, 1957 – October 18, 2019) was an American technology executive who served as Co-CEO and as a member of the board of directors of Oracle Corporation. He had previously served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer ...
ended HP's agreement with Apple, within days of taking office, a "highly symbolic decision" that was well-received as a return to innovation by HP.
Steven Levy Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist and Editor at Large for ''Wired'' who has written extensively for publications on computers, technology, cryptography, the internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. He is the author of the 1984 book ...
, writing in 2015 on the agreement, wrote that "Steve Jobs blithely mugged her and HP's shareholders. By getting Fiorina to adopt the iPod as HP's music player, Jobs had effectively gotten his Tunessoftware installed on millions of computers for free, stifled his main competitor, and gotten a company that prided itself on invention to declare that Apple was a superior inventor. And he lost nothing ..."Benjamin Snyder
How Steve Jobs totally tricked Carly Fiorina: The story of the ill-fated iPod+HP
''Fortune'' (October 1, 2015).


Layoffs

In January 2001, HP laid off 1,700 marketing employees. In June 2001, Fiorina asked employees to either take pay cuts or use their allotted vacation time to cut additional costs, resulting in more than 80,000 people signing up and saving HP 130 million. Despite these efforts from employees, in July Fiorina announced that 6,000 jobs would be cut, the biggest reduction in the company's 64-year history, but those cuts would not actually occur until after the Compaq merger was announced. In September 2001, Fiorina said she intended to cut an additional 15,000 jobs in the event of a merger with Compaq. In all, Fiorina
laid off A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...
30,000 U.S. employees. According to '' PolitiFact'', those 30,000 layoffs were "as a result of the merger with Compaq...." By 2004 the number of HP employees was about the same as the pre-merger total of HP and Compaq combined, and that 2004 number included roughly 8,000 employees of other companies acquired by HP since 2001.Farley, Robert
"Ad from Sen. Barbara Boxer attacks Carly Fiorina for layoffs at HP"
Politifact (September 17, 2010): "According to SEC filings, HP had 84,400 employees worldwide in 2001, the year before the merger. In 2001, Compaq had 63,700 full-time employees. That comes to a total of 148,100 workers. In 2005, just after her departure, HP's worldwide workforce reached 150,000. Net gain? In the Los Angeles Times story, reporter Robin Abcarian said that statement is dubious, because 'in that same period, HP bought more than a dozen other U.S. companies with at least 8,000 employees, according to company filings, press releases and news reports.'...It's clear that Fiorina laid off 30,000 workers as a result of the merger with Compaq, as she said in the interview with InformationWeek. And it's clear that by October 2005 the merged company employed more workers than the two separate companies had pre-merger (Fiorina had been forced out seven months earlier in February 2005). But some of those jobs may have resulted from acquisitions, and some may have been abroad."
Abcarian, Robin
"Profits may not equal success"
''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' (May 20, 2010): "According to HP's government filings, the company had 84,400 employees worldwide in 2001, the year before the merger. In 2001, Compaq had 63,700 full-time employees. Together the two companies would have a total workforce of 148,100. But in that same period, HP bought more than a dozen other U.S. companies with at least 8,000 employees, according to company filings, press releases and news reports. And in 2005, when Fiorina was fired, the company reported a worldwide workforce of 150,000."
Kessler, Glenn
"Carly Fiorina's misleading claims about her business record"
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
(May 8, 2015): " e number of Pemployees was 84,800 in 1999 and 151,000 in 2004, according to the 10-K reports. On paper, that certainly looks like an increase in jobs. But before the merger with Compaq, HP had 86,200 employees and Compaq had 63,700 employees. That adds up to 149,900. HP's filings show that the combined company had 141,000 employees in 2002 and 142,000 employees in 2003. By 2005, the number was 150,000. In other words, the number of employees barely budged from the pre-merger totaland people lost jobs as a result. The ''Los Angeles Times'', evaluating Fiorina's record when she ran for the Senate in 2010, noted that during her tenure HP also acquired more than a dozen other companies with at least 8,000 employees. Indeed, Fiorina has acknowledged firing more than 30,000 workers in the wake of the Compaq merger."
Altogether, under Fiorina's leadership, HP had a net gain of employees, including employees from mergers as well as hires in countries outside the United States. In 1999, when Fiorina became CEO of HP, the company had 84,800 employees. After the merger with Compaq, the company had a total of 145,000 employees worldwide. At the time of her resignation in 2005, after HP had acquired several other companies, HP had about 150,000 employees.


Forced resignation

HP's revenue doubled and the rate of patent filings increased due to mergers with Compaq and other companies during Fiorina's stint as CEO.President Fiorina? How Carly did at HP
''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' (May 4, 2015).
Carly Fiorina's misleading claims about her business record
''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' (May 8, 2015).
In addition, HP's cash flow increased by 40%, to around $6.8 billion. However, the company underperformed by a number of other metrics: there were no gains in HP's net income despite a 70% gain in net income of the
S&P 500 The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of ...
over this period; the company's debt rose from 4.25 billion to 6.75 billion; and its stock price fell by 50%, exceeding declines in the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector index and the NASDAQ.Analysts: Carly Fiorina long on vision, fell short on execution at HP
San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
(April 20, 2010).
By contrast, stock prices for IBM and Dell fell by 27.5% and 3% respectively during this time. The Compaq acquisition was not as transformative as Fiorina and the board had envisioned: in the merger proxy, they had forecasted that the PC division of the merged entities would generate an operating margin of 3.0% in 2003, while the actual figure was 0.1% in that year and 0.9% in 2004. In 2004, HP fell dramatically short of its predicted third-quarter earnings, and Fiorina fired three executives during a 5 AM telephone call. In early January 2005, the Hewlett-Packard board of directors discussed with Fiorina a list of issues that the board had regarding the company's performance and disappointing earning reports. The board proposed a plan to shift her authority to HP division heads, which Fiorina resisted strongly. A week after the meeting, the confidential plan was leaked to ''The Wall Street Journal''. According to ''BusinessWeeks Ben Elgin, directors were also concerned about the board's inability to work effectively with Fiorina. Less than a month later, the board brought back Tom Perkins and forced Fiorina to resign as chair and chief executive officer of the company. The company's stock jumped 6.9 percent on news of her departure, adding almost three billion dollars to the value of HP in a single day. In her book ''Tough Choices'', she referred to board members' behavior as "amateurish and immature".Fiorina, ''Tough Choices'', Chapter 30. Larry Sonsini, who investigated the leak related to Fiorina's forced resignation, described the board in his report to Fiorina as being "dysfunctional." On May 13, 2008, HP, under then-Chief Executive
Mark Hurd Mark Vincent Hurd (January 1, 1957 – October 18, 2019) was an American technology executive who served as Co-CEO and as a member of the board of directors of Oracle Corporation. He had previously served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer ...
, confirmed that it had reached a deal to buy Electronic Data Systems, the largest since the Compaq purchase. The price was a reported $12.6 billion. At the time of the announcement, Loren Steffy of ''
The Houston Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' suggested that the EDS acquisition after Fiorina's tenure was evidence that her failed plan to acquire part of
Pricewaterhouse Coopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
was justified.Steffy, Loren
With merger, HP adopts Fiorina's strategy 8 years later
''San Francisco Chronicle'' (May 14, 2008) (opinion).
Under the company's agreement with Fiorina, which was characterized as a golden parachute by ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine, and Yahoo! Finance, Fiorina received a severance package valued at 21 million, which consisted of 2.5 times her annual salary plus bonus and the balance from accelerated vesting of stock options. According to ''Fortune'' magazine, Fiorina collected over 100 million in compensation during her short tenure at HP.


Business leadership image

In 2003, Fiorina was named by ''Fortune Magazine'' the most powerful woman in business, a position she held for five years. In 2004, she was included in the Time 100, ''Time'' 100 ranking of "most influential people in the world today" and named tenth on the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, ''Forbes'' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. In 2005, ''The Wall Street Journal'' described Fiorina as the epitome of "an alluring, controversial new breed of chief executive officers who combine grand visions with charismatic but self-centered and demanding styles". The same year, Wharton School of Business professor Michael Useem opined, "Fiorina scored high on leadership style, but she failed to execute strategy".HP After Carly: What Went Wrong?
"Knowledge@Wharton", Wharton School (March 30, 2005).
Following her forced resignation from HP, several commentators ranked Fiorina as one of the worst American (or tech) CEOs of all time. In 2008, ''InfoWorld'' grouped her with a list of products and ideas that flopped, declaring that her tenure as CEO of HP was the sixth worst tech flop of all time, and characterizing her as the "anti- Steve Jobs" for reversing the goodwill of "geeks" and alienating existing customers. During Fiorina's tenure as CEO, HP leased or purchased five planes, including two Gulfstream IVs, to replace four aging aircraft, only one of which had the range to fly overseas. One Gulfstream IV, acquired at a cost of 30 million and available for Fiorina's "exclusive" use, became a rallying point among HP employees who complained of Fiorina's expensive self-promotion and top-down managerial style during a time of company layoffs.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (born 1 April 1954) is the Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at Yale School of Management, and Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies. Sonnenfeld is best known as the founder and CEO of Chief Executive ...
of Yale School of Management said in August 2015 that problems with Fiorina's leadership style were what caused HP to lose half its value during her tenure. Others have defended her business leadership decisions and viewed the Compaq merger as successful over the long term.Zapler, Mike.
"Analysts: Carly Fiorina long on vision, fell short on execution at HP"
''San Jose Mercury News'' (April 20, 2010).
Craig Barrett (chief executive), Barrett, Craig
"History straightens out facts; Carly Fiorina positioned HP for success"
San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
(April 4, 2010) (opinion).
Brilliant, or Blunder? A Rashomon Roundtable on Carly Fiorina's Compaq Acquisition
Bloomberg News (May 4, 2015).


Transition of career and public persona


Autobiography

In October 2006, Fiorina published an autobiography entitled ''Tough Choices'', about her career and her views on issues, what constitutes a leader, how women can thrive in business, and the role technology will continue to play in reshaping the world. A review by NPR Books noted that "The book covers Fiorina's rise and fall as America's most powerful female executive." Earlier books by others about Fiorina's role in the merger at HP included: ''Backfire,'' (2003) by Peter Burrows, and ''Perfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett-Packard,'' (2003), by George Anders. A 2003 review by ''The New York Times'' of these books said, "Two new books about the deal and its main championHewlett-Packard's chair and chief executive officer, Carly Fiorinashow that there is much investors can glean immediately from this merger."


Other organizational involvement

In October 2007, Fiorina signed with the Fox Business Network as a business commentator. After resigning from HP, Fiorina served on the board of Revolution Health Group and computer security company Cybertrust in 2005. In 2006, she became a member of the board of directors for chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), but resigned from that board on November 30, 2009, with the company saying this was "because she planned to devote her full time and energy" to her Senate campaign. She had attended 17% of the TSMC directors' meetings in 2009 and 20% of TSMC directors' meetings in 2008. She served as a member of the MIT Corporation from 2004 to 2012. She was a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2005. She is an honorary fellow of the London Business School. In July 2012, Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia appointed her to the James Madison University Board of Visitors. In 2015, Fiorina received an honorary degree and delivered the commencement address at Southern New Hampshire University. Fiorina is the chair and CEO of Carly Fiorina Enterprises, a business and charitable foundation. A spokesperson described Fiorina Enterprises as "...a nonprofit enterprise that helped Fiorina structure speaking engagements and appearances while providing the public with information about her activities..." The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' reported that, as of July 2009, she had "never registered her Carly Fiorina Enterprises to conduct business in California, either with the California secretary of state or the clerk of Santa Clara County, where Fiorina lives."


Nonprofit work


Good360

In April 2012, Fiorina became chair of
Good360 Good360 is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Alexandria, Virginia. The organization's mission is to transform lives by finding hope and possibilities for individuals, families, and communities who have been impacted by disaster or ot ...
, a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization in Alexandria, Virginia, which helps companies donate excess merchandise to charities. Good360 has been consistently ranked by ''Forbes'' magazine as one of the top 10 most efficient charities, and ranked as the 33rd largest charity in the United States. Good360 is "the largest product donation marketplace in the world. We help companies take excess inventory and then distribute that excess inventory to 37,000 vetted charities around this country." In September 2014, Fiorina led an effort by Good360 to get American corporations "to help combat the Ebola virus in West Africa – by donating specific items." She left the organization when she declared her presidential candidacy in 2015.


One Woman Initiative

Fiorina served as Fund Chair of One Woman Initiative (OWI), a partnership between the private sector and government agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Department of State (DoS). OWI describes itself as "An International Women's Empowerment Fund" that seeks to "support existing initiatives in Muslim majority countries and countries with large Muslim populations" and "focus on key empowerment issues including entrepreneurship, political leadership, and the rule of law." OWI said it would raise funds in order to give grants to achieve these objectives, with contributions managed through a separate section 501(c)(3) designated organization. In June 2009, USAID announced that OWI grants totaling over 500,000 had been made to grassroots organizations in Azerbaijan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines.


Opportunity International

On February 14, 2013, Opportunity International announced a partnership with Fiorina and OWI to provide financial resources, education and training to two million women living in poverty. Fiorina was referred to as Global Ambassador to Opportunity International. On May 4, 2015, Opportunity International announced that Fiorina was resigning from the Board after the announcement of her presidential candidacy.


Fiorina Foundation

Fiorina is the chair and CEO of the Fiorina Foundation, a charity that has donated to causes including Care-a-Van for Kids, a transportation program to aid seriously ill children, and the African Leadership Academy, an educational institution in South Africa. The foundation 'enables corporations, spokeswomen entrepreneurs and philanthropists alike to address some of the world's most challenging issues,' according to Fiorina's Web site, carlyfiorina.com." The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' reported that "Records also show that her Fiorina Foundation has never registered with the Internal Revenue Service or the state attorney general's charitable trust division, which tax-exempt charities are required to do. A spokeswoman commented that "Fiorina and her staff believed the foundation was not required to file with the IRS because it accepted no outside contributions and donated only her personal wealth to worthy causes."


Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

In 2017, Fiorina joined the board of trustees for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. In December 2020, she was elected the chair of the board of trustees.


Political career

Fiorina has never held public office, but said that her status as an outsider is a positive attribute, given that in her opinion, professional politicians have failed to deliver to the American people, stating in an interview with Fox News in 2015 that "82% of the American people now think we need people from outside the professional political class to serve in public office."


Republican National Committee fundraising chair and 2008 campaign

In 2006, Fiorina worked as an advisor for Republican Senator John McCain's McCain/Palin, presidential campaign. In early 2008, she was referred to in media sources as a potential vice presidential candidate, and ''The New York Times'' noted that while she did not want to run, she was an executive who could possibly become a candidate for president. On March 7, 2008, Fiorina was named fundraising chair for the Republican National Committee's "Victory" initiative. She was reportedly a "point person" for the McCain campaign on issues related to business and economic affairs. Fiorina's severance package from Hewlett-Packard in 2005 was viewed by some as a political liability during the campaign. Earlier that day, she defended the selection of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate and said that Palin was being subjected to sexism, sexist attacks, a charge she repeated a few days later in response to one of the Saturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin, ''Saturday Night Live'' parodies of Sarah Palin. When asked during a radio interview on September 15, 2008 whether she thought Palin had the experience to run a major company like Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina answered "No, I don't. But that's not what she's running for. Running a corporation is a different set of things." When questioned about her answer, she answered, "I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation." Fiorina further said that none of the candidates on either ticket had the experience to run a major corporation. After media coverage of Fiorina's comments, she "disappeared from public view" and planned television appearances were cancelled, although she continued to chair the party's fundraising committee. Responding to Barack Obama's victory over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primary, Fiorina sought to attract more women to the Republican camp by praising Clinton's effort. Referring to the McCain campaign, ''Newsweek'' described Fiorina as "the most prominent surrogate on economics issues in any of the major campaigns." In discussing the possibility of Fiorina becoming McCain's running mate, political analyst Stuart Rothenberg pointed out her potential downside, stating that she "is rather easy to sketch out" because she would "become a talking point for Democrats" who would focus on Fiorina's generous severance package from when she had left HP and her management style. Rothenberg concluded that Fiorina was "like a dream come true" for Democratic opposition researchers.


Defense Business Board and Central Intelligence Agency

Fiorina performed unpaid service on the Defense Business Board, which looked at staffing issues, among others, at The Pentagon. Fiorina spent two years leading the Central Intelligence Agency's External Advisory Board, from 2007 to 2009, and became chair of that board, when the board was first created in 2007 by then-CIA director Michael Hayden during the presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration.


2010 U.S. Senate candidacy for California

On November 4, 2009, Fiorina formally announced her candidacy in the 2010 United States Senate election in California, 2010 Senate election in a bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. Fiorina's campaign in the Republican primary for that seat received a number of endorsements, including one from Sarah Palin in the form of a Facebook note. Her campaign ad about Republican rival Tom Campbell (California politician), Tom Campbell featuring a "Demon Sheep"created by Fiorina advertising consultant Fred Davis IIIgenerated largely negative international publicity. After the ad went viral video, viral, the California Democratic Party created a parody of the ad depicting Fiorina herself as a demon sheep. On June 8, 2010, Fiorina won the Republican primary election for the Senate with over 50 percent of the vote, beating Campbell and State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. A ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' search of public records indicated Fiorina had failed to vote in most elections. Fiorina responded: "I'm a lifelong registered Republican but I haven't always voted, and I will provide no excuse for it. You know, people die for the right to vote. And there are many, many Californians and Americans who exercise that civic duty on a regular basis. I didn't. Shame on me." The ''Los Angeles Times'' noted that Fiorina had Conservatism in the United States, conservative positions on certain social issues. She personally opposed abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or endangerment of the mother's life. As a private citizen, she stated that she voted for California Proposition 8 (2008), Proposition 8, which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Following an August 4, 2010, federal court ruling that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, Fiorina expressed disagreement with the ruling, saying that California voters spoke clearly against same-sex unions when a majority approved the proposition in 2008. She stated that she opposed Litmus test (politics), litmus tests for Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court nominations and did not favor a federal Abortion debate, "personhood" amendment. Fiorina had called global warming a "serious issue" but said that the science surrounding it is inconclusive, saying "I think we should have the courage to examine the science on an ongoing basis." In a campaign ad, Fiorina likened Boxer's concerns over global warming to worrying about "the weather." Fiorina accepted contributions from the coal industry as well as Koch Industries. Fiorina opposed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, cap-and-trade legislation supported by Boxer, and thought efforts to control greenhouse gases would cost 3 million jobs and are "massively destructive". In financial disclosures, Fiorina identified her net worth at between 30 million and 120 million, and by October 22, Fiorina had contributed a total of 6.5 million to her own race. Sarah Palin was set to appear at a GOP fundraiser two weeks ahead of the November 2 election, but neither Meg Whitman (the Republican nominee for 2010 California gubernatorial election, Governor of California) nor Fiorina – both big-name Republicans – planned to attend. The prediction was that Palin's primary endorsement would jeopardize her general election candidacy. Boxer won the general election, defeating Fiorina 52.2% to 42.2%.


"Unlocking Potential Project" PAC

Fiorina launched and developed a political action committee (PAC) known as "Up-Project" (short for "Unlocking Potential Project") from 2011 to 2014. The stated mission of the organization was "...to engage women with new messages and new messengers by focusing on personal interactions with voters and going beyond the traditional methods of identifying, persuading and turning-out voters..." In November 2014, ''The Washington Post'' reported that "Helping Fiorina chart her political future are consultants Frank Sadler, who once worked for Koch Industries, and Stephen DeMaura, a strategist who heads Americans for Job Security, a pro-business advocacy group in Virginia"; The Up-Project website lists Fiorina as chair.


American Conservative Union Foundation and CPAC

On October 1, 2013, Al Cardenas, chair of the American Conservative Union (ACU), appointed Fiorina as chair of the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF), the ACU's educational arm. The ACU is a conservative 501(c)(4) organization, while the ACUF is its affiliated 501(c)(3) foundation, which organizes the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Fiorina was co-chair of CPAC 2014, making a speech at the conference. At CPAC 2015, Fiorina again made a speech at the conference. It was speculated that Fiorina would announce her candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in that speech, but Fiorina did not, instead making her official announcement months later, on May 4, 2015, in a television and promotional video, therein repeating her talking points from CPAC and including an attack on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Fiorina resigned as ACU Foundation chair in early 2015.


U.S. presidential campaign, 2016

Fiorina ruled out running for the United States Senate, U.S. Senate United States Senate election in California, 2016, in 2016, but refused to rule out running for president 2016 United States presidential election, in 2016 or Governor of California in 2018. In November 2014, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that Fiorina was "actively exploring" a run for president. Her business background and status as the only CEO and the only woman in a "sea of suited men" were mentioned as positives, though Republican strategists pointed to her poor 2010 Senate performance, unpaid campaign debt, and dismissal from HP as "considerable challenges" to her prospects. In March 2015, Fiorina said on ''Fox News Sunday'' that there was a "higher than 90% chance" that she would run for president in 2016. On May 4, 2015, Fiorina announced her candidacy during an interview on ''Good Morning America'', with George Stephanopoulos. Fiorina entered the race with immediate criticism of Hillary Clinton. It was reported that the GOP saw Fiorina as "the tip of the spear" in its attack of the Clinton campaign because she was uniquely positioned to isolate her criticisms of Clinton from claims of gender bias. Shortly after Fiorina announced her entry into the 2016 presidential race, in a replay of her 2010 senatorial race, the social media and editorial outlets questioned her tenure as HP's CEO as a basis for her run for president, focusing around US job cuts and offshoring that Fiorina directed during her tenure at HP, and contrasting it with the high compensation bonuses she received from the company. Campaign Manager, Sarah Isgur Flores, deflected the job cut criticism saying, Fiorina "worked hard to save as many jobs as possible." On August 6, Fiorina participated in Fox News Channel, Fox News's first GOP debate. Failing to qualify for one of the Fox News prime-time debate slots, she was relegated to the debate airing earlier the same day. Fiorina's performance led news sources to conclude she had won the early debate. Following the debate, several pundits correctly predicted that her polling numbers would surge. On August 9, Fiorina reported an uptick in fundraising support. In an online poll by NBC and SurveyMonkey on August 10, Fiorina came in fourth of Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016, the seventeen Republican contenders with 8% of the sampled Republican primary voters saying they would support her in a primary or a caucus, a gain in support of six points from previous polling data. At another debate in September, hosted by CNN, Fiorina misrepresented a Planned Parenthood 2015 undercover videos controversy, Planned Parenthood sting video, describing a grisly scene which was not in the video. She was sharply criticized for this in the media; the gaffe consumed much of the post-debate coverage. Planned Parenthood responded that she had lied, saying it was "not the first time Carly Fiorina has lied." PolitiFact chief editor Angie Drobnic Holan mentioned this particular lie in a December 2015 comparison of the presidential candidates with regard to their truthfulness. In the comparison, Fiorina scored 50% falsehood, the sixth worst performance. ''The National Review'' pointed out her role as foil to Hillary Clinton, saying "Carly Fiorina is no doubt getting attention because of her unique background, but more and more people are staying to listen because she has something fresh to say", and that "Fiorina also seems to relish the role of being the most pointed critic of Hillary Clinton.... She contrasts her background as a 'problem solver' with Clinton's record as a professional politician." ''The Nation'' commented, "With so-called women's issues poised to play an unprecedented role in the upcoming election, Republicans need someone who can troll Hillary Clinton without seeming sexist." Meg Whitman, then CEO of Hewlett Packard, stated that in her opinion Fiorina was not qualified to be President of the United States, stating that a business background is important but that having worked in government is also important, and that "it's very difficult for your first role in politics to be President of the United States". As part of her financial disclosures related to her candidacy, Fiorina reported a net worth of 59 million, with 12 million in income in 2013. ''International Business Times'' estimates Fiorina's net worth between 30 million and 120 million. Her performances in early debates for the Republican primary nomination, particularly her rebukes of front-runner Donald Trump in the September 16, 2015 debate, earned her a significant spike in the polls from 3% to 15% post-debate, but her polling numbers dropped to 4% by October, and to 3% in December. On February 10, due to weak results in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, Fiorina announced that her campaign was suspended. On March 9, 2016, Fiorina endorsed Texas Senator
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
for President, saying she was "horrified" by Donald Trump, and that Cruz was the only candidate that could stop him.


Vice presidential campaign and aftermath

On April 27, 2016, Cruz announced that, if he were selected as the party's presidential nominee, he would choose Fiorina as his vice presidential running mate, but after losing the United States presidential election in Indiana, 2016, Indiana primary six days later, he suspended his campaign, making her vice-presidential candidacy the shortest in modern American history. Fiorina received one electoral college vote for vice president from a faithless elector in Texas. Following Trump's election, Fiorina was considered for the position of Director of National Intelligence during the Presidential transition of Donald Trump, 2016 transition period. In 2020 United States presidential election, 2020, Fiorina endorsed Joe Biden's presidential campaign due to her disapproval of President Donald Trump.


Political positions

When she first entered politics as a Senate candidate in November 2009, Carly Fiorina was "considered to be a moderate Republican with little history on social issues" and her views changed during her run for Senate and her run for President in 2016. In 2017, she has described herself as Conservatism in the United States, conservative. In 2020, Fiorina announced that she would vote for Joe Biden for President. ''FiveThirtyEight'', a non-partisan organization which analyzes candidates' positions and conducts polling, considered Fiorina to be within the Moderate Republican (modern United States), moderate and Factions in the Republican Party (United States), establishment wings of the GOP.


Social issues

Fiorina is anti-abortion.William Petroski
Fiorina blasts 'crony capitalism' in Iowa soapbox remarks
''Des Moines Register'' (August 17, 2015).
She expressed support for legislation to ban Abortion in the United States, abortions 20 weeks after fertilization, with an exception for cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother. In 2010, she said that ''Roe v. Wade'' was settled law, but later reversed that position. Fiorina supports overturning ''Roe v. Wade'', the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in the United States, leaving it to the states. She does support Embryonic stem cell, embryonic stem-cell research if the embryos were not created for that purpose. In a February 2015 speech, Fiorina acknowledged the Scientific opinion on climate change, scientific consensus that climate change is real and caused by human activity, but expressed skepticism that government can affect the issue, and has "implied that targeting the coal industry will not solve the problem". Fiorina said in May 2015 that "drug addiction shouldn't be criminalized" and cited "decriminalizing drug addiction and drug use" as an example of a successful reform. Fiorina opposes the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of marijuana, but says that she believes in states' rights, and that as president she will not enforce the Legal history of cannabis in the United States, federal ban on marijuana in Colorado, where voters have legalized marijuana as a matter of state law.Jesse Rifkin
Carly Fiorina Wouldn't Enforce Federal Marijuana Ban In States With Legalization
''The Huffington Post'' (May 8, 2015).
While running for president, Fiorina has been a critic of the Common Core State Standards.Mark Hensch
Fiorina: US education 'a big problem'
''The Hill'' (May 31, 2015).
Carly Fiorina
How to Fix Our Broken Education System? Give Every Parent and Student a Choice and a Chance
, ''Iowa Republican'' (July 22, 2015).
In September 2015, Fiorina said: "No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, Common Core – they're all big, bureaucratic programs that are failing our nation."Ilan Ben-Meir
Carly Fiorina Has Completely Reversed Her Position On Federal Education Policies Since 2010
BuzzFeed News (September 11, 2015).
This was a reversal of her position on federal education policies during her 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate from California. In that campaign, Fiorina issued a position paper in which she "strongly advocated for metric-based accountability in schools" and "praised No Child Left Behind as setting high standards, and Race to the Top for using internationally-benchmarked measures." In California, Fiorina supported the DREAM Act, which would allow Undocumented youth in the United States, children brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were under the age of 16 to secure permanent U.S. residency and a path to citizenship, if they graduate from college or serve in the armed forces.David Knowles
Carly Fiorina: No Path to Citizenship for those Who Came to U.S. Illegally
Bloomberg (May 4, 2015).
Carly Fiorina opposed same-sex marriage, but supported civil unions. She later said that she hoped the nation would support ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', the decision legalizing same-sex marriage, and also respect individuals' consciences. In November 2009, during a ''The Wall Street Journal'' interview, Fiorina said that she voted in favor of Proposition 8, a California ballot proposition that banned same-sex marriage in that state. During the United States Senate election in California, 2010, 2010 United States Senate election in California, Fiorina was endorsed by GOProud, a gay conservative organization. In 2010, Fiorina stated that she supported the Defense of Marriage Act, but also supported Same-sex unions in the United States, civil unions. She supported the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. In 2015, Fiorina reaffirmed her support for civil unions with the same Rights and responsibilities of marriages in the United States, government benefits accorded to married persons. She does not support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. In 2017, Fiorina headlined the 40th anniversary of Log Cabin Republicans, a political action committee which supports LGBT rights. In her address, she said, "Everyone has to be free to be who they are." Fiorina believes employers should decide whether they should provide paid maternity leave to their employees and it should not be mandated by the government, noting that some companies in the private sector are already doing so. She also pointed out that HP, while she was CEO, offered paid maternity leave.


Foreign and military policy

Fiorina has criticized the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, international nuclear agreement with Iran, saying that Iran is "at the heart" of evil in the Middle East; that the agreement is a "flawed deal"; and that "there is a lot of reason to be suspicious" of it. Fiorina also suggested that verification provisions in the agreement were insufficient and that approval of the agreement by the international community and P5+1, the U.S.'s negotiating partners was suspect because Russia and China have an interest in gaining access to Iran's economy and the European Union "has negotiated, frankly, a number of weak deals." Fiorina opposes the Cuban Thaw, normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations, telling Hugh Hewitt that if elected she would close the Embassy of the United States, Havana, U.S. embassy in Havana. In a January 2015 discussion with an Iowa political blogger, Fiorina said of the Chinese: "They're not terribly imaginative. They're not entrepreneurial. They don't innovate. That's why they're stealing our intellectual property." Fiorina supports keeping the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba open.David Catanese
Carly Fiorina Would Cancel the State Dinner With China
''U.S. News & World Report'' (September 22, 2015).
In September 2015, Fiorina "offered a vigorous defense of CIA waterboarding," a tactic used by the United States during the Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush-era War on Terror. Fiorina's interest in national security issues led to her name being floated for the position of Director of National Intelligence by Donald Trump during the Presidential transition of Donald Trump, 2016 transition period.


Economic and fiscal Issues

Fiorina was critical of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health care reform in the United States, health care reform legislation during the Health care reform debate in the United States, debate in 2009 that led to the act's passage. Fiorina has supported repealing the ACA during both her 2010 Senate run in California,Christina Hoag
Fiorina: Health reform must make insurers compete
Associated Press (October 21, 2010).
and in her 2015 presidential campaign.Sahil Kapur
Carly Fiorina's Obamacare Replacement Plan Hasn't Fared Well With House Republicans
Bloomberg Politics (May 4, 2015).
Fiorina has called the law "deeply flawed"David Jackson
GOP candidates maintain their attacks on Obamacare
''USA Today'' (June 25, 2015).
and a "vast legislative overreach." Fiorina supports an individual mandate that would require individuals to carry "high-deductible 'catastrophic care' insurance plans and use federal dollars to subsidize state-based high-risk pools to provide care for those who otherwise cannot afford it."Chris Moody
Fiorina's long-held support for mandatory health insurance
CNN (September 25, 2015).
Fiorina has stated that "there is no constitutional role for the federal government to be setting minimum wages"Arthur Delaney

''The Huffington Post'' (October 28, 2015).
and that the minimum wage "is a classic example of a policy that is best carried out in the states" because economic conditions in New Hampshire vary significantly from more expensive economic conditions in Los Angeles or New York. Florina also believes that raising the federal minimum wage would "hurt those who are looking for entry-level jobs". Fiorina opposes net neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and has said she would "roll back" that policy: "Regulation over innovation is a really bad role for government." Fiorina has repeatedly criticized the rules, arguing that "the FCC just issuedwithout anyone commenting on it or anyone voting on it400 pages of new regulations over the Internet. It's not good, it's not helpful." Fiorina "generally believes that reducing government regulations helps to spur the economy". She has condemned the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, saying in April 2015 that "We should get rid of Dodd-Frank and start again." Fiorina has been questioned by some in the media for stating that not "a single regulation has ever been repealed."Glenn Kessler
Fact Checker: Carly Fiorina's claim that not 'a single regulation' has ever been repealed
''The Washington Post'' (April 27, 2015).
Glenn Kessler (journalist), Glenn Kessler of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' said that, "Important parts of the economy have been deregulated in recent decades. While the repeal of a specific rule is relatively rare, there are certainly examples." Fiorina favors lowering tax rates, simplifying the tax code, and closing loopholes that she says mostly benefit wealthy taxpayers. Florina has said "the government needs to take in less tax money, not more." During her 2010 Senate campaign, Fiorina "called for eliminating the Estate tax in the United States, estate tax and Capital gains tax in the United States, capital gains taxes for investments in small businesses, and lowering marginal tax rates." Fiorina opposes proposals to increase the Fuel taxes in the United States, federal gas tax or state gas taxes in order to fund the Highway Trust Fund, asserting in a February 2015 ''The Wall Street Journal'' op-ed that "Any gas tax hike, big or small, will harm American families and hurt economic growth." Fiorina opposed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, federal stimulus package of 2009 intended to create short-term job growth and invest in infrastructure, education, health, and renewable energy, calling it a waste of taxpayer money. Fiorina has said she would cut the pay of federal workers and base their compensation on performance. She also advocates zero-based budgeting for the federal budget, which would start the annual budgeting process for each department from a baseline of zero. Fiorina favors expanding the H-1B visa program. Writing in opposition to proposals she considered Protectionism, protectionist in a 2004 ''The Wall Street Journal'' op-ed, Fiorina said that while "America is the most innovative country," it would not remain so if the country were to "run away from the reality of the global economy." Fiorina said to Congress in 2004: "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore. We have to compete for jobs as a nation."


Personal life

Fiorina (then Cara Carleton Sneed) married Todd Bartlem, a Stanford classmate, in June 1977. They divorced in 1984. In 1981, she was introduced to American Telephone & Telegraph, AT&T executive Frank Fiorina, who told her on their third date that she would one day be running the company. She married him in 1985; it was the second marriage for both. Fiorina has said that they wanted to have children together but "that wasn't God's plan". Frank Fiorina took early retirement from AT&T in 1998 at age 48 to travel with and support his wife in her career. Frank Fiorina had two daughters, Traci and Lori Ann, from his first marriage. Their mother, Patricia, was awarded custody of both children following the divorce. Carly helped her husband with raising his daughters. Lori Ann struggled with alcoholism, prescription drug addiction and bulimia. She died in 2009 at age 35. In February 2009, Fiorina was diagnosed with Cancer staging, stage II breast cancer. She underwent a double mastectomy at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford Hospital in March 2009, followed by chemotherapy, which caused her to temporarily lose her hair, and later radiation therapy. She was given "an excellent prognosis for a full recovery." In late 2009, during her campaign for the United States Senate seat held by Barbara Boxer, Fiorina humorously told a group of supporters: "I have to say that after chemotherapy, Barbara Boxer just isn't that scary anymore." According to the financial disclosures filed by Fiorina's campaign in June 2015, she and her husband have a combined net worth of $59 million.Rebecca Ballhaus
Carly Fiorina and Her Husband Have $59 Million Net Worth
''The Wall Street Journal'' (June 3, 2015).
Fiorina has released the income Tax return (United States), tax returns that she and her husband Filing status#Married filing jointly, jointly filed in 2013 and 2012; in those years, the Fiorinas reported income of almost $2 million and $1.3 million, respectively. Fiorina and her husband live in a home in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Mason Neck, Virginia, overlooking the Potomac River.Jenna Johnson
Nine things to know about Carly Fiorina
''The Washington Post'' (May 4, 2015).
The house and grounds were valued at $6.6 million in 2015. At the time of the 2010 Senate election, Fiorina and her husband lived in Los Altos Hills, California, a San Francisco Bay area suburb.Robin Abcarian
Profits may not equal success Carly Fiorina's business experience is a mixed blessing in political realm
''Los Angeles Times'' (May 20, 2010).
Between 2005 and 2012, Fiorina and her husband also owned a condominium in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, where they lived for roughly half the year; they sold the condo for $5.3 million. Discussing her religious faith, Fiorina said that she is Christian. Specifically, she said that "she was raised Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopalian but is not a regular churchgoer."


See also

* Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016


References


Bibliography

* Anders, George (2003). ''Perfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett-Packard''. New York: Penguin Group, 2003. . * Burrows, Peter. ''Backfire: Carly Fiorina's High-Stakes Battle for the Soul of Hewlett-Packard''. Wiley, 2003. . * Fiorina, Carly (2006). ''Tough Choices: A Memoir''. Penguin Group, Portfolio Hardcover, 2006. hardcover: , abridged audiobook: * Fiorina, Carly (2015). ''Rising to the Challenge: My Leadership Journey'', Penguin Group (Sentinel (publisher), Sentinel), .


External links

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Campaign contributions
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