"HP just really isn't such a special place anymore," said David Woodley Packard, a former HP board member whose father cofounded the company. "She came in and turned it into something else, and I don't think it was necessary."
But in at least one key respect, Fiorina's reign at the helm of the iconic Silicon Valley firm has been vindicated by time. Her signature move while at HP a $25 billion megamerger with Compaq that was panned by many observers at the time has turned out to be a boon for the company, several experts now acknowledge. That acquisition and others undertaken by Fiorina's successor, Mark Hurd, have made Palo Alto-based HP the largest technology company in the world.
"She created a situation where the company could be successful, but it took others to actually make it work," said technology analyst Rob Enderle.
This is not a picture of a bleeding heart liberal. Instead, she is a hard nosed no non-sense business person who saved HP but ended up taking the hit because the changes necessary were unwanted and unwelcome. But, most of the competitors that didn't make the change are gone. Dinosaurs from a lost time in the past.
I’ve read all about her tenure there. She stunk the joint up