Carly Fiorina | |
|---|---|
 Fiorina in 2017 | |
| Finance Chair of theNational Republican Senatorial Committee | |
| In office December 17, 2011 – c. 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Katie Walsh (as Deputy Finance Director) |
| Succeeded by | Rob Portman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cara Carleton Sneed (1954-09-06)September 6, 1954 (age 71) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 stepdaughters |
| Relatives | Joseph Sneed (father) |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles University of Maryland, College Park (MBA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS) |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
| Website | Campaign website |
Cara Carleton "Carly"Fiorina (/ˌfiːəˈriːnə/;née Sneed; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure aschief executive officer (CEO) ofHewlett-Packard (HP) from 1999 to 2005. Fiorina was the first woman to lead aFortune Top-20 company.[1]
Fiorina started her career atAT&T and subsequently worked atLucent Technologies, where she led the joint venture withPhilips.
In 2002, Fiorina oversaw what was then the largest technology sector merger in history, in which HP acquired rivalpersonal computer manufacturer,Compaq. The transaction made HP the world's largest seller of personal computers.[2][3] 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.[4][5][6] In February 2005, she was forced to resign as CEO and chair following a boardroom disagreement.[7][8][9] She subsequently served as Chair of the philanthropic organizationGood360.[10][11]
Fiorina was an adviser toRepublicansenator John McCain's2008 presidential campaign. In2010, she won the Republican nomination for theUnited States Senate in California, but lost the general election to incumbent DemocratBarbara Boxer.[12][13] Fiorina wasa candidate in the2016 Republican presidential primary, and was for seven days the vice-presidential running mate ofTed Cruz until he suspended hiscampaign. In2020, Fiorina endorsed thepresidential campaign of DemocratJoe Biden.[14]
Cara Carleton Sneed was born on September 6, 1954, inAustin, Texas, the daughter of Madelon Montross (née Juergens) andJoseph Tyree Sneed III.[15] The name "Carleton", from which "Carly" is derived, has been used in every generation of the Sneed family since theCivil War.[16] At the time of her birth, Fiorina's father was a professor at theUniversity of Texas School of Law.[17][18][19] He would later become dean ofDuke University School of Law,Deputy U.S. Attorney General, and judge on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[20] Her mother was anabstract painter.[21] She is mainly of English andGerman ancestry,[22] and was raised Episcopalian.[22] 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 theConstantine Sneed House inBrentwood, Tennessee, which is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
Carly was aBrownie but did not become aGirl Scout due to her family's frequent moves.[23] She attendedChanning School, in London. She later attended five different high schools, including one inGhana,[24] graduating fromCharles E. Jordan High School inDurham, North Carolina. At one time she aspired to be a classicalpianist.[25] She received aBachelor of Arts in philosophy and medieval history atStanford University, in 1976. During her summers, she worked as a secretary forKelly Services.[26] She attended theUCLA School of Law in 1976, but dropped out[27] after one semester. She worked as a receptionist for six months at a real estate firm,Marcus & Millichap, moving up to a broker position. When she married in 1977, she and her husband moved toBologna,Italy, where he was doing graduate work;[28] there she did English tutoring to Italian businessmen.[22][29]
In 1980, Fiorina received aMaster of Business Administration, in marketing, from theRobert H. Smith School of Business at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park. In 1989 she obtained aMaster of Science degree in management from theMIT Sloan School of Management, under theSloan Fellows program.[30]
In 1980, Fiorina joinedAT&T as a management trainee, selling telephone services to big federal agencies.[31] In 1990, she became the company's first female officer as senior vice president overseeing the company's hardware and systems division,[32] eventually heading its North American operations.[32][33]
In 1995, Fiorina led corporate operations for Lucent Technologies, Inc., aspin-off from AT&T of itsWestern Electric andBell Labs divisions into a new company.[34] In that capacity, she reported to Lucent chief executiveHenry B. Schacht.[35] She played a key role in planning and implementing the 1996initial public offering of a successful stock and company launch strategy.[32][36][37] The spin-off became one of the most successful IPOs in U.S. history, raisingUS$3 billion.[31][34]
Later in 1996, Fiorina was appointed president of Lucent's consumer products sector.[36] In 1997, she was named group president for Lucent'sUS$19 billion global service-provider business, overseeing marketing and sales for the company's largest customer segment.[32][38] That year, Fiorina chaired aUS$2.5 billion joint venture between Lucent's consumer communications andRoyal Philips Electronics, under the namePhilips Consumer Communications (PCC).[39][40] In the edition of October 12, 1998, ofFortune magazine, Fiorina was named "The Most Powerful Woman in American Business".[31]
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.[34][41] 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".[41] Lucent's stock price grew 10-fold.[41]
In July 1999,Hewlett-Packard Company named Fiorina chief executive officer, succeedingLewis Platt and prevailing over the internal candidateAnn Livermore.[42] Matthew Boyle ofFortune magazine said of Fiorina's hiring as HP's first woman CEO that, "Carly Fiorina didn't just break theglass ceiling, she obliterated it, as the first woman to lead a FORTUNE 20 company."[43][44][45]
Writing inFortune magazine in August 2015,Jeffrey Sonnenfeld 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."[46] Fiorina received a larger signing offer than any of her predecessors, including:US$65 million in restricted stock to compensate her for the Lucent stock and options she left behind,[41] aUS$3 million signing bonus, aUS$1 million annual salary (plus aUS$1.25–US$3.75 million annual bonus),US$36,000 in mortgage assistance, a relocation allowance, and permission (and encouragement) to use company planes for personal affairs.[47] Fortune also named her the most powerful woman in America for five consecutive years.[48]
Although the decision to spin off the company'sanalytical 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-aloneAgilent Technologies.[49] Fiorina proposed the acquisition of the technology services arm ofPricewaterhouseCoopers for almostUS$14 billion, but withdrew the bid after a lackluster reception from Wall Street.[50] Following the collapse of thedot-com bubble, the PwC consulting arm was acquired by IBM for less thanUS$4 billion. HP later acquiredElectronic Data Systems, another technology services company, which some considered a validation of Fiorina's strategy.[51][52]
In early September 2001, in the wake of the bursting of theTech Bubble, Fiorina announced the acquisition of PC maker Compaq withUS$25 billion in stock,[7] which, at the time, was the second largest producer of personal computers, after Dell.[7] HP stock traded down by 30% on the news of the merger.[7] The Compaq merger created the world's largest personal computer manufacturer in terms of units shipped.[53][54][55]
Fiorina was frequently at odds with HP's board of directors,[47][56] and she had to fight with the board for the merger. Walter Hewlett (the son of company co-founderWilliam Hewlett) was a source of particularly strong opposition.[56][57] Hewlett originally voted with the other board members to approve the Compaq deal, but he later changed his mind.[7] He launched aproxy fight 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.[7][58] Fiorina was supported in the proxy battle by other board members,[7] including Richard Hackborn,Philip M. Condit,[59]George A. Keyworth, II,[60] and Robert Knowling.[7] Fiorina proceeded to reorganize HP and merge the parts of it that she kept with Compaq.[61]
The merger was met initially with almost universal skepticism.[62] The February 7, 2005, issue ofFortune described her merger plan as "failing" and the prognosis as "doubtful".[63] 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.[64] In 2008, former acting CEO of CompaqBen Rosen stated that although Fiorina lacked the skills to run the merged company, her successors made it work.[62] 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 offUS$1.2 billion from the acquisition as the personal computer market declined.[65] Looking back, a 2011The New York Times article described it as "one of the more questionable deals of the time."[66]
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 inIran.[67] 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.[68][69] After the story was initially reported byThe Boston Globe in 2008,[70] theSEC sent a letter of inquiry to HP, who responded that products worthUS$120 million were sold in fiscal 2008[71] arguing that the sales did not violate export sanctions because they were made through a foreign subsidiary.[67] According to former officials who worked on sanctions, HP was using a loophole by routing their sales through a foreign subsidiary.[67] HP ended its relationship with Redington Gulf after the SEC inquiry.[67]
In a September 2015 interview withMichael Isikoff, Fiorina said that, in the weeks following theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, she received a phone call fromMichael Hayden, then thedirector of the National Security Agency, asking her assistance in providing HP computer servers to the NSA for expanded surveillance.[72] Hayden confirmed that he had made the request for HP servers as part ofStellar Wind, a 2001–2007NSA warrantless surveillance program, but the details were not revealed to Fiorina at the time.[72] 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 theWashington Beltway, where they were escorted by NSA security" to the agency'sFort Meade 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."[72] 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".[72]
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: replacingprofit sharing with bonuses awarded if the company met financial expectations, a reduction in operating units from 83 to 12, and consolidating back-office functions.[7]
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,[47][56][73] which she felt hindered innovation.[47][74] 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 HP – previously among the highest in America – revealed "widespread unhappiness" and distrust,[47][75] and Fiorina was sometimes booed at company meetings and attacked on HP'selectronic bulletin board.[47]
According toThe Fiscal Times, 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.[76]
In January 2004, Fiorina announced an agreement withApple founderSteve Jobs for theiPod+HP – aco-brandediPod sold through HP's retail channels.[77] As part of the agreement, HP was forbidden from selling a competitor to the iPod until August 2006 and HP agreed to pre-installiTunes on every computer sold.[78] Two days before Fiorina announced the HP+iPod, Jobs announced a new product, theiPod mini, catching Fiorina off guard.[79] 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.[78] As a result, at the peak of the program, iPod+HP sales represented only a small portion of total iPod sales.[80] In July 2005, soon after Fiorina resigned as CEO, her successorMark Hurd ended HP's agreement with Apple, within days of taking office,[81] a "highly symbolic decision" that was well-received as a return to innovation by HP.[82][83]
Steven Levy, 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 [iTunes] software 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 ..."[84]
In January 2001, HP laid off 1,700 marketing employees.[85] 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 HPUS$130 million.[86] 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,[87][88] but those cuts would not actually occur until after the Compaq merger was announced.[89] In September 2001, Fiorina said she intended to cut an additional 15,000 jobs in the event of a merger with Compaq.[87][90]
In all, Fiorinalaid off 30,000 U.S. employees.[5][91] According toPolitiFact, those 30,000 layoffs were "as a result of the merger with Compaq...."[5] 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.[5][92][93] 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.[6]
In 1999, when Fiorina became CEO of HP, the company had 84,800 employees.[93] After the merger with Compaq, the company had a total of 145,000 employees worldwide.[94] At the time of her resignation in 2005, after HP had acquired several other companies, HP had about 150,000 employees.[5]
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.[95][96] In addition, HP's cash flow increased by 40%, to around $6.8 billion.[97][98] However, the company underperformed by a number of other metrics: there were no gains in HP'snet income despite a 70% gain in net income of theS&P 500 over this period;[95] the company's debt rose fromUS$4.25 billion toUS$6.75 billion;[95] and its stock price fell by 50%, exceeding declines in the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector index and theNASDAQ.[95][99] By contrast, stock prices forIBM andDell fell by 27.5% and 3% respectively during this time.[99] 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.[7]
In 2004, HP fell dramatically short of its predicted third-quarter earnings, and Fiorina fired three executives during a 5 AM telephone call.[47] 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.[7][8][9] The board proposed a plan to shift her authority to HP division heads, which Fiorina resisted strongly.[9] A week after the meeting, the confidential plan was leaked toThe Wall Street Journal.[100] According toBusinessWeek's Ben Elgin, directors were also concerned about the board's inability to work effectively with Fiorina.[101]
Less than a month later, the board brought backTom Perkins and forced Fiorina to resign as chair and chief executive officer of the company.[102] 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.[103][104]
In her bookTough Choices, she referred to board members' behavior as "amateurish and immature".[105]Larry Sonsini, who investigated the leak related to Fiorina's forced resignation, described the board in his report to Fiorina as being "dysfunctional."[105]
On May 13, 2008, HP, under then-Chief ExecutiveMark Hurd, confirmed that it had reached a deal to buyElectronic Data Systems, the largest since the Compaq purchase. The price was a reported $12.6 billion.[106] At the time of the announcement, Loren Steffy ofThe Houston Chronicle suggested that the EDS acquisition after Fiorina's tenure was evidence that her failed plan to acquire part ofPricewaterhouse Coopers was justified.[107]
Under the company's agreement with Fiorina, which was characterized as agolden parachute byTime magazine,[108] andYahoo! Finance,[109] Fiorina received a severance package valued atUS$21 million, which consisted of 2.5 times her annual salary plus bonus and the balance from accelerated vesting of stock options.[7][110]According toFortune magazine, Fiorina collected overUS$100 million in compensation during her short tenure at HP.[46]
In 2003, Fiorina was named byFortune Magazine the most powerful woman in business, a position she held for five years.[7][111][112] In 2004, she was included in theTime 100 ranking of "most influential people in the world today"[113] and named tenth on theForbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women.[114] 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".[115] The same year,Wharton School professorMichael Useem opined, "Fiorina scored high on leadership style, but she failed to execute strategy".[116]
Following her forced resignation from HP, several commentators ranked Fiorina as one of the worst American (or tech) CEOs of all time.[117][118][119] 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.[120][121] During Fiorina's tenure as CEO, HP leased or purchased five planes, including twoGulfstream IVs, to replace four aging aircraft, only one of which had the range to fly overseas.[122][123] One Gulfstream IV, acquired at a cost ofUS$30 million and available for Fiorina's "exclusive" use,[124] 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.[7][87][123]Jeffrey Sonnenfeld ofYale 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.[46]
Others have defended her business leadership decisions and viewed the Compaq merger as successful over the long term.[107][125][126][127]
In October 2006, Fiorina published an autobiography entitledTough 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."[128]
Earlier books by others about Fiorina's role in the merger at HP included:Backfire, (2003)[129] by Peter Burrows, andPerfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett-Packard, (2003),[130] byGeorge Anders. A 2003 review byThe New York Times of these books said, "Two new books about the deal and its main champion – Hewlett-Packard's chair and chief executive officer, Carly Fiorina – show that there is much investors can glean immediately from this merger."[131]
In October 2007, Fiorina signed with theFox Business Network as a business commentator.[132]
After resigning from HP, Fiorina served on the board ofRevolution Health Group[133] and computer security companyCybertrust in 2005.[134] In 2006, she became a member of the board of directors for chip makerTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC),[135] 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.[136] She had attended 17% of the TSMC directors' meetings in 2009 and 20% of TSMC directors' meetings in 2008.[137][138] She served as a member of theMIT Corporation[139][140] from 2004 to 2012. She was a member of the Foundation Board of theWorld Economic Forum (WEF) in 2005.[8][141][142] She is an honorary fellow of theLondon Business School.[143] In July 2012, GovernorBob McDonnell of Virginia appointed her to theJames Madison University Board of Visitors.[144][145] In 2015, Fiorina received anhonorary degree and delivered thecommencement address atSouthern New Hampshire University.[146]
Fiorina is the chair and CEO of Carly Fiorina Enterprises, a business and charitable foundation.[147] 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..."[148] TheSan 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."[148]
In April 2012, Fiorina became chair ofGood360, a501(c)(3)nonpartisannonprofit organization inAlexandria, Virginia, which helps companies donate excess merchandise to charities.[149][150] Good360 has been consistently ranked byForbes magazine as one of the top 10 most efficient charities,[151] and ranked as the 33rd largest charity in the United States.[152] 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."[153]
In September 2014, Fiorina led an effort by Good360 to get American corporations "to help combat theEbola virus in West Africa – by donating specific items".[154] She left the organization when she declared her presidential candidacy in 2015.[155]
Fiorina served as Fund Chair of One Woman Initiative (OWI), a partnership between the private sector and government agencies, including theUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID) and theUnited States Department of State (DoS).[156][157] 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".[158] 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.[158]
In June 2009, USAID announced that OWI grants totaling overUS$500,000 had been made to grassroots organizations in Azerbaijan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines.[159]
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.[160] Fiorina was referred to as Global Ambassador to Opportunity International.[160] On May 4, 2015, Opportunity International announced that Fiorina was resigning from the Board after the announcement of her presidential candidacy.[161]
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 theAfrican Leadership Academy, an educational institution in South Africa. Florina's website states that the foundation "enables corporations, spokeswomen entrepreneurs and philanthropists alike to address some of the world's most challenging issues".[148]
TheSan 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."[148]
In 2017, Fiorina joined the board of trustees for theColonial Williamsburg Foundation. In December 2020, she was elected the chair of the board of trustees.[162]
Fiorina has never held public office,[163][164][165] 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,[163] 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."[166]
In 2006, Fiorina worked as an advisor for Republican senatorJohn McCain'spresidential campaign.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.[167] On March 7, 2008, Fiorina was named fundraising chair for theRepublican National Committee's "Victory" initiative. She was reportedly a "point person" for the McCain campaign on issues related to business and economic affairs.[168] Fiorina'sseverance package from Hewlett-Packard in 2005 was viewed by some as a political liability during the campaign.[169][170][171] Referring to the McCain campaign,Newsweek described Fiorina as "the most prominent surrogate on economics issues in any of the major campaigns."[172]
Earlier that day, she defended the selection ofSarah Palin as McCain's running mate and said that Palin was being subjected tosexist attacks, a charge she repeated a few days later in response to one of theSaturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin.[173][174][175]
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.[176][177][178] After media coverage of Fiorina's comments, she "disappeared from public view" and planned television appearances were cancelled,[179] although she continued to chair the party's fundraising committee.[168][178][180][181][182] Responding toBarack Obama's victory overHillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, Fiorina sought to attract more women to the Republican camp by praising Clinton's effort.[183]
In early 2008, she was referred to in media sources as apotential vice presidential candidate,[184][185] In discussing the possibility of Fiorina becoming McCain's running mate, political analystStuart 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 Democraticopposition researchers.[186]
Fiorina performed unpaid service on theDefense Business Board, which looked at staffing issues, among others, atThe Pentagon.[187]
Fiorina spent two years leading theCentral Intelligence Agency's External Advisory Board, from 2007 to 2009,[187] and became chair of that board,[188] when the board was first created in 2007 by then-CIA directorMichael Hayden during theGeorge W. Bush administration.[189]
On November 4, 2009, Fiorina formally announced her candidacy in the2010 Senate election in a bid to unseat incumbent DemocratBarbara Boxer.[190][191][192][193] Fiorina's campaign in the Republican primary for that seat received a number of endorsements, including one fromSarah Palin in the form of aFacebook note.[194][195] Her campaign ad about Republican rivalTom Campbell featuring a "Demon Sheep" – created by Fiorina advertising consultantFred Davis III – generated largely negative international publicity.[196][197] After the ad wentviral, theCalifornia Democratic Party created a parody of the ad depicting Fiorina herself as a demon sheep.[198]
On June 8, 2010, Fiorina won the Republican primary election for the Senate with over 50 percent of the vote, beating Campbell and state assemblymanChuck DeVore.[199]
ALos Angeles Times 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."[200][201]
TheLos Angeles Times noted that Fiorina hadconservative positions on certainsocial issues. She personally opposedabortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or endangerment of the mother's life.[202] As a private citizen, she stated that she voted forProposition 8, which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.[203] 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.[204] She stated that she opposedlitmus tests forSupreme Court nominations and did not favor a federal"personhood" amendment.[205] Fiorina had calledglobal 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."[206] In a campaign ad, Fiorina likened Boxer's concerns over global warming to worrying about "the weather."[207] Fiorina accepted contributions from the coal industry[208] as well asKoch Industries.[209] Fiorina opposed thecap-and-trade legislation supported by Boxer, and thought efforts to controlgreenhouse gases would cost 3 million jobs and are "massively destructive".[210][211]
In financial disclosures, Fiorina identified her net worth at betweenUS$30 million andUS$120 million,[212] and by October 22, Fiorina had contributed a total ofUS$6.5 million to her own race.[213]
Sarah Palin was set to appear at a GOP fundraiser two weeks ahead of the November 2 election, but neitherMeg Whitman (the Republican nominee forGovernor 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.[214]
Boxer won the general election, defeating Fiorina 52.2% to 42.2%.[215]
Fiorina launched and developed apolitical action committee (PAC) known as "Up-Project" (short for "Unlocking Potential Project")[216] 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..."[217] 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 headsAmericans for Job Security, a pro-business advocacy group in Virginia";[218] The Up-Project website lists Fiorina as chair.[219]
On October 1, 2013,Al Cardenas, chair of theAmerican Conservative Union (ACU), appointed Fiorina as chair of the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF), the ACU's educational arm.[220] The ACU is a conservative501(c)(4) organization, while the ACUF is its affiliated501(c)(3) foundation, which organizes the annualConservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).[189][220]
Fiorina was co-chair of CPAC 2014, making a speech at the conference.[189] At CPAC 2015, Fiorina again made a speech at the conference.[188][189][221] It was speculated that Fiorina would announce her candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in that speech,[188][189] 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 candidateHillary Clinton.[222]
Fiorina resigned as ACU Foundation chair in early 2015.[223]
Fiorina ruled out running for theU.S. Senatein 2016,[224] but refused to rule out running for presidentin 2016 orGovernor of California in 2018.[225][226][227][228] In November 2014,The Washington Post 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.[229] In March 2015, Fiorina said onFox News Sunday that there was a "higher than 90% chance" that she would run for president in 2016.[230]
On May 4, 2015, Fiorina announced her candidacy during an interview onGood Morning America, withGeorge Stephanopoulos.[231] Fiorina entered the race with immediate criticism ofHillary 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.[232]
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 andoffshoring that Fiorina directed during her tenure at HP, and contrasting it with the high compensation bonuses she received from the company.[233] Campaign Manager,Sarah Isgur Flores, deflected the job cut criticism saying, Fiorina "worked hard to save as many jobs as possible."[234][235]
On August 6, Fiorina participated inFox News's first GOP debate. Failing to qualify for one of the Fox Newsprime-time debate slots, she was relegated to the debate airing earlier the same day.[236] Fiorina's performance led news sources to conclude she had won the early debate.[237][238][239] Following the debate, several pundits correctly predicted that her polling numbers would surge.[240][241] On August 9, Fiorina reported an uptick in fundraising support.[242] In anonline poll by NBC andSurveyMonkey on August 10, Fiorina came in fourth ofthe 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.[243] At another debate in September, hosted by CNN, Fiorina misrepresented aPlanned Parenthood sting video, describing a grisly scene which was not in the video. She was sharply criticized for this in the media;[244] the gaffe consumed much of the post-debate coverage.[245]Planned Parenthood responded that she had lied, saying it was "not the first time Carly Fiorina has lied."[246]PolitiFact chief editorAngie 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.[245]
The National Review pointed out her role as foil toHillary 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."[247]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."[248]Meg Whitman, then CEO ofHewlett-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".[249][250]
As part of her financial disclosures related to her candidacy, Fiorina reported a net worth ofUS$59 million, withUS$12 million in income in 2013.[251][252]International Business Times estimates Fiorina's net worth betweenUS$30 million andUS$120 million.[253]
Her performances in early debates for the Republican primary nomination, particularly her rebukes of front-runnerDonald Trump in the September 16, 2015, debate, earned her a significant spike in the polls from 3% to 15% post-debate,[254][255][256] but her polling numbers dropped to 4% by October,[257] and to 3% in December.[258][259]On February 10, due to weak results in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, Fiorina announced that her campaign was suspended.[260] On March 9, 2016, Fiorina endorsed Texas SenatorTed Cruz for President, saying she was "horrified" by Donald Trump, and that Cruz was the only candidate that could stop him.[261]
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,[262] but after losing theIndiana primary six days later, he suspended his campaign,[263] making her vice-presidential candidacy the shortest in modern American history.[264]
Fiorina received one electoral college vote for vice president from afaithless elector in Texas.[265] Following Trump's election, Fiorina was considered for the position ofdirector of national intelligence during the2016 transition period.[266] In2020, Fiorina endorsedJoe Biden's presidential campaign due to her disapproval of President Donald Trump.[267][268]
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.[269] In 2017, she has described herself asconservative.[270] In 2020, Fiorina announced that she would vote forJoe Biden for President.[267][268]FiveThirtyEight, a non-partisan organization which analyzes candidates' positions and conducts polling, considered Fiorina to be within themoderate andestablishment wings of the GOP.[271]
Fiorina isanti-abortion.[272] She expressed support for legislation to banabortions 20 weeks after fertilization, with an exception for cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother.[273] In 2010, she said thatRoe v. Wade was settled law, but later reversed that position.[274] Fiorina supported overturningRoe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalizedabortion in the United States, allowing states to set their own abortion policies.[273] She does supportembryonic stem-cell research if the embryos were not created for that purpose.[275][276]
In a February 2015 speech, Fiorina acknowledged thescientific consensus that climate change is real and caused by human activity,[273] but expressed skepticism that government can affect the issue,[273][277] and has "implied that targeting the coal industry will not solve the problem".[273]
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.[278] Fiorina opposes thelegalization of marijuana, but says that she believes instates' rights, and that as president she will not enforce thefederal ban on marijuana in Colorado, where voters have legalized marijuana as a matter of state law.[279]
While running for president, Fiorina has been a critic of theCommon Core State Standards.[280][281] 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."[282] This was a reversal of her position on federal education policies during her 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate from California.[282][283] 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."[273]
In California, Fiorina supported theDREAM Act, which would allowchildren 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.[273][277][284]
Carly Fiorina opposed same-sex marriage, but supportedcivil unions. She later said that she hoped the nation would supportObergefell v. Hodges, the decision legalizing same-sex marriage, and also respect individuals' consciences.[285] In November 2009, during aThe Wall Street Journal interview, Fiorina said that she voted in favor ofProposition 8, aCalifornia ballot proposition that banned same-sex marriage in that state. During the2010 United States Senate election in California, Fiorina was endorsed byGOProud, agay conservative organization.[286] In 2010, Fiorina stated that she supported theDefense of Marriage Act, but also supportedcivil unions.[287] She supported therepeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.[276] In 2015, Fiorina reaffirmed her support for civil unions with the samegovernment benefits accorded to married persons.[288] She does not support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.[289] In 2017, Fiorina headlined the 40th anniversary ofLog Cabin Republicans, a political action committee which supports LGBT rights.[290] In her address, she said, "Everyone has to be free to be who they are."[291]
Fiorina believes employers should decide whether they should provide paidmaternity 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.[292][293] She also pointed out that HP, while she was CEO, offered paid maternity leave.[292]
Fiorina has criticized theinternational nuclear agreement with Iran, saying that Iran is "at the heart" of evil in the Middle East;[294] that the agreement is a "flawed deal";[295] and that "there is a lot of reason to be suspicious" of it.[296] Fiorina also suggested that verification provisions in the agreement were insufficient and that approval of the agreement by theinternational community andthe U.S.'s negotiating partners was suspect becauseRussia andChina have an interest in gaining access to Iran's economy and theEuropean Union "has negotiated, frankly, a number of weak deals."[296] Fiorina opposes thenormalization of U.S.-Cuba relations, tellingHugh Hewitt that if elected she would close theU.S. embassy in Havana.[297]
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."[298] Fiorina supports keeping theGuantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba open.[299] In September 2015, Fiorina "offered a vigorous defense of CIAwaterboarding," a tactic used by the United States during theGeorge W. Bush-eraWar on Terror.[72] Fiorina's interest in national security issues led to her name being floated for the position ofdirector of national intelligence by Donald Trump during the2016 transition period.[266]
Fiorina was critical of theAffordable Care Act (ACA)health care reform legislation during thedebate in 2009 that led to the act's passage.[300] Fiorina has supported repealing the ACA during both her 2010 Senate run in California,[301][302] and in her 2015 presidential campaign.[303][304] Fiorina has called the law "deeply flawed"[305] and a "vast legislative overreach."[303] 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."[306]
Fiorina has stated that "there is no constitutional role for the federal government to be setting minimum wages"[307][308] 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.[309] Florina also believes that raising the federal minimum wage would "hurt those who are looking for entry-level jobs".[277]
Fiorina opposesnet neutrality rules adopted by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC), and has said she would "roll back" that policy: "Regulation over innovation is a really bad role for government."[273][310][311] Fiorina has repeatedly criticized the rules, arguing that "the FCC just issued – without anyone commenting on it or anyone voting on it – 400 pages of new regulations over the Internet. It's not good, it's not helpful."[312]
Fiorina "generally believes that reducing government regulations helps to spur the economy".[277] She has condemned theDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, saying in April 2015 that "We should get rid of Dodd-Frank and start again."[313] Fiorina has been questioned by some in the media for stating that not "a single regulation has ever been repealed."[314]Glenn Kessler ofThe Washington Post 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."[314]
Fiorina favors lowering tax rates, simplifying the tax code, and closing loopholes that she says mostly benefit wealthy taxpayers.[315][316] Florina has said "the government needs to take in less tax money, not more."[317] During her 2010 Senate campaign, Fiorina "called for eliminating theestate tax andcapital gains taxes for investments in small businesses, and lowering marginaltax rates."[277] Fiorina opposes proposals to increase thefederal gas tax or state gas taxes in order to fund theHighway Trust Fund, asserting in a February 2015The Wall Street Journal op-ed that "Any gas tax hike, big or small, will harm American families and hurt economic growth."[318] Fiorina opposed thefederal 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.[277] Fiorina has said she would cut the pay of federal workers and base their compensation on performance.[277] She also advocateszero-based budgeting for the federal budget, which would start the annual budgeting process for each department from a baseline of zero.[315]
Fiorina favors expanding theH-1B visa program.[319][320][321][322] Writing in opposition to proposals she consideredprotectionist in a 2004The 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."[323] 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."[320]
Fiorina (then Cara Carleton Sneed) married Todd Bartlem, a Stanford classmate, in June 1977. They divorced in 1984.[324] In 1981, she was introduced toAT&T executive Frank Fiorina, who told her on their third date that she would one day be running the company.[325] 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".[326][327][328] Frank Fiorina took early retirement from AT&T in 1998[325] at age 48 to travel with and support his wife in her career.[329]
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 raise his daughters. Lori Ann struggled withalcoholism,prescription drugaddiction andbulimia. She died in 2009 at age 35.[278][330]
In February 2009, Fiorina was diagnosed withstage IIbreast cancer. She underwent a doublemastectomy[331][332] atStanford Hospital in March 2009, followed bychemotherapy, which caused her to temporarily lose her hair, and laterradiation therapy.[333] She was given "an excellent prognosis for a full recovery."[334][335] In late 2009, during her campaign for the United States Senate seat held byBarbara Boxer, Fiorina humorously told a group of supporters: "I have to say that after chemotherapy, Barbara Boxer just isn't that scary anymore."[336]
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.[337] Fiorina has released the incometax returns that she and her husbandjointly filed in 2013 and 2012; in those years, the Fiorinas reported income of almost $2 million and $1.3 million, respectively.[337]
Fiorina and her husband live in a home in the Washington, D.C., suburb ofMason Neck, Virginia, overlooking thePotomac River.[338][339] The house and grounds were valued at $6.6 million in 2015.[337] At the time of the 2010 Senate election, Fiorina and her husband lived inLos Altos Hills, California, aSan Francisco Bay area suburb.[340][341] Between 2005 and 2012, Fiorina and her husband also owned a condominium in theGeorgetown neighborhood of Washington, where they lived for roughly half the year; they sold the condo for $5.3 million.[340][342][343][344]
Discussing her religious faith, Fiorina said that she is Christian.[345] Specifically, she said that "she was raisedEpiscopalian but is not a regular churchgoer."[346][347][348]
Ms. Fiorina's ouster reflects increasingly clear strategic problems at H-P. The company faces fierce competition from Dell Inc. in personal computers, and International Business Machines Corp. in computer services and corporate computing.
For a time she dreamed of being a classical pianist.
Fiorina managed the highly successful spin-off of Lucent in 1996.
While Fiorina travels aboard aUS$30 million Gulfstream IV, employees joke they can't order books and supplies.
Rankings By: Portfolio.com
The Foundation Board [not to be confused with the Managing Board] is responsible for inspiring business and public confidence by ensuring a flawless standard of governance. Board members are individuals with unique leadership experience from business, politics, academia and civil society.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Before announcing her bid Monday for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Carly Fiorina resigned from James Madison University's board of visitors. A replacement will likely be chosen next month, according to Brian Coy, a spokesman for Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Coy confirmed that Fiorina notified the governor's office of her resignation as vice rector in a March 27 letter saying, "her current activities preclude her ability to give this board the time and...
Documents 2001–2009, organizations.
Year-Old USAID/State Department/Private Sector Initiative Unveils Initial Aid to Local Groups; Chair Carly Fiorina, USAID's Lisa Chiles, and CAFAmerica's Saxon-Harrold Report on Progress
But Fiorina, 60, has considerable challenges, chiefly that she has sought but never held public office.
Fiorina, 60, has never held public office.
I'm talking about Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, being sent out to reassure business-class voters on behalf of John McCain. Fiorina has emerged as the most prominent surrogate on economics issues in any of the major campaigns, and her alliance with McCain suggests both his strength and his weakness on the subject.
Sie dürfte sich indes mit ihren filmtechnisch stümperhaften, inhaltlich dümmlichen Werbespots gegen ihren innerparteilichen Widersacher Tom Campbell komprimittiert haben. Darin zeichnet Fiorina den allgemein als kompetent und freundlich geltenden Abgeordneten als gefährlichen Wolf im Schafspelz.
Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and her husband have a net worth of $59 million, her campaign said late Wednesday, making her one of the wealthiest candidates in the race so far.
The numbers were bad news for Mrs. Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, who stood up to Mr. Trump during the last Republican debate and won accolades for her crisp, forceful performance. However, her bounce in the polls appears to have been ephemeral, and her support has dropped to just 4 percent, from 15 percent in September, the poll showed.
I'm not saying I oppose paid maternity leave. What I'm saying is I oppose the federal government mandating paid maternity leave to every company out there. I don't think it's the role of government to dictate to the private sector how to manage their businesses, especially when it's pretty clear that the private sector, like Netflix ... is doing the right thing because they know it helps them attract the right talent.
I think a minimum wage is a classic example of a policy that is best carried out in the states, because if you are here in Nashua, New Hampshire, it is not the same set of economic conditions or expensive living as L.A. or New York City. To me, a national minimum wage does not make a lot of sense.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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| Preceded by | President ofHewlett-Packard 1999–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Chief Executive Officer ofHewlett-Packard 1999–2005 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by Richard Hackborn | Chair ofHewlett-Packard 2000–2005 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator from California (Class 3) 2010 | Vacant Title next held by Mark Meuser2022 |
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