Free Republic

SAN JOSE, Calif. - After running one of Silicon Valley's powerhouse companies for six years, Carly Fiorina now has her sights set on the White House. Not for her — not yet, at least. But for John McCain. Fiorina, 53, joined the Republican senator's presidential campaign this spring. She brings with her a long list of wealthy friends and supporters and intimate insight into how some of the largest corporations work, having been at the helm of Hewlett-Packard Co. and before that, senior management at AT&T Inc. and its spinoff Lucent Technologies. While the new gig is her first in...

Soul searching Republicans are turning to an unlikely savior, one-time party heretic and now presumptive White House nominee John McCain, as they try to stave off an electoral disaster. Stung by the Democratic seizure of three staunch conservative seats in Congress, Republican lawmakers fear a shellacking in November's general election, after losing control of both chambers of Congress in 2006. The rise of McCain as their champion is not without irony, since the 71-year-old Arizona senator has quarreled with his own party for years on issues as diverse as immigration, campaign finance reform and global warming. But it is precisely...

One of the most important figures in the presidential campaign this fall is a controversial, hypercompetent blonde. She has blazed new paths, is always on message, and has written a best-selling memoir. Friends and foes alike refer to her by her first name only. And she'll play a significant role shoring up the bona fides of her party's candidate among a core constituency that might be wavering. No, I'm not talking about the Democrats sending out Hillary Clinton on behalf of Barack Obama to reassure white working-class voters. I'm talking about Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that California faces a budget gap that could approach $20 billion through June 2009, a dizzying projection that adds further confusion to the depth of California's financial crisis. "Right now, we have approximately, altogether, $20 billion of deficit," the Republican governor told business leaders in Orange County. "It's going to be a big challenge." The estimated gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1 already has prompted talk in Sacramento of tax increases and spending cuts that could hit classrooms, law enforcement and health care. The new figure essentially doubles the Republican governor's deficit...

Numerous conservatives throughout the country have called me to say that while they may have supported candidates other than John McCain for the Republican nomination, they would now like to campaign for the Arizonan -- if for no other reason than the thought of “President Obama” or “President Clinton 44” gives them nightmares! The stumbling block for them is that John McCain, so far, is not sending out signals that he welcomes conservatives who were not with him from the start. In his recent trip to the Middle East, the certain GOP nominee was accompanied by Sens. Lindsay Graham (R.-SC)...

Republican National Committee officials confirmed today that former Hewlett-Packard boss Carly Fiorina is moving in to take over as chair of Victory 2008, the group that raises money and handles the get-out-the-vote operation, including the 72-hour campaign leading up to Election Day. She will be joined by longtime GOP activist Lewis Eisenberg, John McCain's national finance cochair, who will serve as finance chairman, and Frank Donatelli, a former Reagan political director, as RNC deputy chairman. There also remains talk that McCain strategist Charles Black will join the RNC as well. The addition of McCain supporters to the RNC is typical...

Former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina said Monday that she was stunned and saddened by the spying scandal engulfing her former company, noting the fiasco highlighted the "boardroom dysfunction" that led to her ouster. [Tech Talk Podcast - Former CEO Carly Fiorina talks about HP's scandal, the corporate glass ceiling for women, and fake testicles.] Fiorina, 52, who was fired by the HP board in early 2005, is promoting her new memoir, "Tough Choices," which recalls her colorful but controversial career as a high-profile Silicon Valley executive. Her book was published this week, at a time when the Palo Alto...

Hewlett-Packard Co. may be the world's largest technology company, but the superlative that better suits it these days is Provider of the World's Strangest Corporate Drama. For two weeks, almost every day has brought revelations of questionable tactics that HP investigators used this year and last to root out who had been describing boardroom deliberations to the media. Corporate intelligence is an old and frequently practiced art, but HP's efforts feel more Watergate than Wall Street. Not only did investigators impersonate board members, employees and journalists to obtain their phone records, but according to multiple reports, they also surveilled an...

Lew Platt, who rose from an entry-level engineer to become the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, died Thursday night of an aneuryism. He was 64 years old. Platt led the Silicon Valley technology giant as CEO through most of the 1990s, serving a total of 33 years at the Palo Alto company. Platt joined HP in 1966 as an engineer in the company's medical products group. He moved up the ranks and was named president and chief executive officer in 1992. He succeeded HP co-founder David Packard as chairman in 1993, and was president, CEO and chairman until he retired in...

Ex-Chief of Hewlett Seen as Candidate to Head World Bank By ELIZABETH BECKER WASHINGTON, March 1 - Carleton S. Fiorina, who lost her job as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard last month, has emerged as a strong candidate to become the next president of the World Bank, according to an official in the Bush administration. --edit-- Ms. Fiorina, the sole woman on the list of World Bank candidates, carries far less political baggage than Mr. Wolfowitz and has a reputation for dynamic leadership. As the head of a Fortune 500 company for six years, she gained managerial experience that puts her...

Feb. 12, 2005, 8:56PM Was it just another firing? Failure of top female executive raises gender issue By L.M. SIXEL Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES WOMEN IN CHARGE The ouster of Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina leaves women in charge of eight Fortune 500 companies, shown here with rankings and when they took over. Hewlett-Packard was No. 11 in Fortune magazine's most recent list. • 104. Sara Lee: Brenda Barnes in February 2005 • 128. Rite Aid: Mary Sammons in June 2003 • 130. Xerox: Anne Mulcahy in August 2001 • 243. Lucent Technologies: Patricia Russo in January 2002 •...

BERKELEY, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- The fact is that Hewlett-Packard before Carly Fiorina (nee Cara Carleton S. Sneed) was probably less dynamic than it is today. She managed to bring some marketing savvy to the company and managed to shake up that stodgy corporate culture known as "the H-P way." That said, H-P slowly evolved from an engineering-centric company to one that makes many of its products offshore and has become a commodity provider too ensnared in the world of humdrum PC's when companies like IBM have bailed out of the business as Dell continues to effortlessly dominate. While there will...

Reporting now - Will provide link to story when it is posted.

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Hewlett-Packard Co., a maker of personal computers, printers and servers, said Wednesday that Carly Fiorina has stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer, effective immediately. "While I regret the board and I have differences about how to execute HP's strategy, I respect their decision," said Fiorina in a press release. Hewlett-Packard shares closed Tuesday at $20.14 on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites), but rose $2.24, or 11 percent, to $22.61 in premarket activity. Robert P. Wayman, HP's chief financial officer, has been named interim chief executive officer and was appointed to...

As I See It: Jobs and Jehovah by Victor Rozek Hewlett-Packard's CEO, Carly Fiorina, made a provocative statement a while back. "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore," she said. It was a telling, if somewhat flippant, remark that sought to vindicate the practice of outsourcing, while dismissing opposition to it for not being divinely sanctioned. As a measure of how far we've slid down the outsourcing job drain, Ms. Fiorina apparently could see no benefit in preserving middle class jobs. Indeed, it was a disingenuous statement coming as it did from the CEO of a major...

Hewlett-Packard's CEO, Carly Fiorina, made a provocative statement a while back. "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore," she said. It was a telling, if somewhat flippant, remark that sought to vindicate the practice of outsourcing, while dismissing opposition to it for not being divinely sanctioned. As a measure of how far we've slid down the outsourcing job drain, Ms. Fiorina apparently could see no benefit in preserving middle class jobs. Indeed, it was a disingenuous statement coming as it did from the CEO of a major technology company. For one thing it's a metaphor, composed of...

WASHINGTON: The chairman of multinational Hewlett-Packard has deplored the current outcry against outsourcing to countries like India, China and Russia saying more jobs should be created in the sectors where the US has and will continue to have competitive advantage. Carly Fiorina, the HP chairman, shocked critics of outsourcing recently by saying: “There is no job that is America’s god-given anymore,” and on Friday, in an article on the Wall Street Journal , she explained why she said that. She recalled that 19 years ago, a group of leaders from American business, labour, government and academics – the President’s Commission...

<p>Nineteen years ago, a group of leaders from American business, labor, government and academia issued a report that raised alarm bells in Washington. The report argued that America's ability to compete in world markets was eroding in the face of emerging industries and low-wage workers in Japan and other Pacific Rim nations.</p>

Arnold enlists Fiorina for transition team By Ina Fried Staff Writer, CNET News.com http://news.com.com/2100-7341-5089253.html Story last modified October 9, 2003, 4:49 PM PDT Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard's chief executive, has been chosen by California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger to join his transition team. Fiorina joins a group trying to help the star of "The Terminator" to take up his role as head of the country's most populous state. In mid-November, Schwarzenegger is expected to take over from Governor Gray Davis, who was ousted by voters in Tuesday's recall election. In a statement on Thursday, Fiorina said she was honored by the appointment....

<p>The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina shared a laugh before her address at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Digital Connection Conference in San Jose.</p> <p>Speaking at the 4th annual Rainbow/Push Coalition conference today in San Jose, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said there continues to be ``an opportunity deficit'' for minorities in Silicon Valley's tech industry.</p>

Another Round in Carly vs. Walter By Monica Rivituso April 23, 2002 IT STILL ISN'T a done deal. Hewlett-Packard's (HWP) proposed acquisition of Compaq Computer (CPQ) has been a tough sell ever since it was announced back in September. The $20 billion deal championed by Chief Executive Carly Fiorina met bitter resistance from Walter Hewlett, an H-P board member and son of the late co-founder William Hewlett. And now, after aggressive campaigning by both sides, a close shareholder vote and a declaration of victory by H-P, the contest has landed in court. In this merger battle's latest twist, Hewlett is...

CUPERTINO, Calif. (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday that preliminary estimates showed shareholders had approved its purchase of Compaq Computer Corp., a result unconfirmed by voting officials. HP said its view is based on a preliminary estimate by its proxy solicitor. Voting officials are expected to take days or weeks to tally the ballots on the $21 billion merger that has been the subject of intense debate. HP shareholders met on Tuesday morning. In a statement, Chief Executive Carly Fiorina described the merger as winning a "decisive majority" of shareholder votes. That differed from Walter Hewlett, the dissident shareholder, who...