Carleton Carly Fiorina

The high-profile reign of Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Carly Fiorina may be nearing an end. Fiorina, the nation's most powerful female executive, had pinned her company's future on the merger with Compaq Computer Corp. Now, with the deal in serious jeopardy, she is facing stinging criticism about her judgment. "I don't think she can survive this," said Rob Enderle, a technology analyst with Giga Information Group, echoing the views of many others.

Republican businesswoman Carly Fiorina formally entered the race for U.S. Senate on Wednesday, issuing a blistering critique of Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer even as she tried to blunt her own primary challenge from the right. Before a small gathering of supporters in a Garden Grove warehouse, Fiorina said her business acumen and real-world experience make her the only viable Republican candidate in the 2010 contest. She mocked Boxer for writing three pieces of legislation during her 17-year tenure and for spending the summer on a book tour instead of meeting with voters at town halls.

Silicon Valley pioneer and corporate icon Hewlett-Packard Co. on Monday named as chief executive Carleton "Carly" Fiorina, already the most powerful businesswoman in America, who earned the reputation at Lucent Technologies as a fearless, high-energy corporate leader. The move by the No. 2 computer company makes Fiorina the first female leader of a blue-chip company and a standout in the high-technology sector, an industry dominated by men.

The most cherished American credo is that anyone can grow up and run for high office. Carly Fiorina's candidacy for the U.S. Senate, which she formally announced Wednesday, will put this notion to the test. Specifically: Can someone who has spent the last few years running from her checkered record as a big-business CEO, shown so little interest in politics that she consistently failed to vote and has at best a tenuous grasp of such major issues as healthcare reform prevail in a statewide California election?

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors has ousted Carly Fiorina, the high-gloss chief executive who hobnobbed with Hollywood stars and graced dozens of magazine covers but who ultimately was unable to meet Wall Street's expectations for the technology behemoth. Grumbling about Fiorina, whom Fortune magazine once proclaimed the most powerful woman in business, began building soon after she masterminded the 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp.

Two and a half years ago, new Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Carly Fiorina was the belle of corporate America, an engaging marketing whiz who had just become the first woman to lead one of the 30 blue-chip companies in the Dow Jones industrial average. As the glamorous outsider reorganized the sleepy Silicon Valley powerhouse, HP's stock fell by more than half. The honeymoon ended.

In his most pointed remarks to date, dissident Hewlett-Packard Co. director Walter Hewlett used a conference call with investors Tuesday to increase his criticism of HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina and reiterate his prediction that she'll lose her job if shareholders reject HP's acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. "She has made this merger a referendum on herself," Hewlett said in his first conference call for all HP investors and the public.

Hewlett-Packard Co. paid Chief Executive Mark Hurd $24.4 million last year in salary, bonus, stock options and other compensation. The Palo Alto-based company also paid ousted CEO Carly Fiorina $22.3 million last year in salary and severance. Fiorina, who worked for three months in 2005, earned $575,287 in salary and the rest in severance. Hurd, who took over April 1, received $816,667 in salary, a bonus of $5.13 million and stock and options worth $9.

Joining a scramble to transform entertainment technology in the living room, Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Carly Fiorina is pushing into the consumer electronics business with new products that store, play and distribute digital music, pictures and movies. On Friday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Fiorina unveiled updated Digital Entertainment Centers, or personal computers that receive and record high-definition television broadcasts.

Attorneys for dissident Hewlett-Packard Co. director Walter Hewlett introduced a litany of damaging internal company reports Tuesday that paint HP's $19-billion merger with Compaq Computer Corp. as a disaster in the making. But in the first day of the trial over Hewlett's lawsuit challenging the merger, HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina denied misleading shareholders about the financial prospects for the combined companies.

The late cultural critic Neil Postman used to pose a simple question to gauge whether a new technology was worth the investment: "What is the problem," he would ask, "to which this is the solution?" That question occurred to me last week as I contemplated the looming U.S. Senate candidacy of Carly Fiorina. The Republican, who was ousted as chairwoman and chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2005, took a first step in that direction last week by filing tax papers for a political fundraising committee.

Carly Fiorina is one of John McCain's chief surrogates, particularly with that key group, women. But Fiorina, ousted as chief of Hewlett-Packard in 2005, is not above rounding the edges on straight talk. On Monday, as she discussed healthcare, she veered from a discussion of Viagra -- never a good idea for a campaign surrogate -- and seemed to stake out a new stance for McCain. "Let me give you a real, live example, which I've been hearing a lot about from women.

Hewlett-Packard Co. paid Chief Executive Mark Hurd $24.4 million last year in salary, bonus, stock options and other compensation. The Palo Alto-based company also paid ousted CEO Carly Fiorina $22.3 million last year in salary and severance. Fiorina, who worked for three months in 2005, earned $575,287 in salary and the rest in severance. Hurd, who took over April 1, received $816,667 in salary, a bonus of $5.13 million and stock and options worth $9.

Carly Fiorina, the Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive deposed last winter for failing to deliver enough benefits from the company's acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp., is writing a book about her career. The memoir, currently untitled, is scheduled to be published next year by Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Group USA.

Carly Fiorina, fired as Hewlett-Packard Co.'s chief executive in February, said she had "no regrets" about her five years at the helm of the world's largest printer maker. In her first public appearance since her ouster, Fiorina told students of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in a commencement address Saturday that she is "at peace" and her "soul is intact."

Carly Fiorina, the recently ousted chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co., is in the running to be the next president of the World Bank, a Bush administration official said Tuesday. Fiorina is the latest person to emerge as a candidate to replace World Bank President James Wolfensohn. He is stepping down as head of the development bank June 1 at the end of his second five-year term. The Financial Times reported Tuesday that U.S.

Carly Fiorina, the recently ousted chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co., is in the running to be the next president of the World Bank, a Bush administration official said Tuesday. Fiorina is the latest person to emerge as a candidate to replace World Bank President James Wolfensohn. He is stepping down as head of the development bank June 1 at the end of his second five-year term. The Financial Times reported Tuesday that U.S.

Is Hewlett-Packard Co.'s proposed takeover of rival Compaq Computer Corp. a daring strategic move or a play by beleaguered HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina for more time to turn her company around? Either way, Fiorina, 46, has taken on the biggest challenge of her career at a time her performance was in serious question.

Carly's out. Now what? Wednesday's resignation of Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive and Chairwoman Carly Fiorina -- so high-profile a figure she's known in Silicon Valley by her first name alone -- triggered a flurry of predictions about the high-tech company's future. Some industry experts said HP should sell or spin off its printing business. Some said it should expand Fiorina's foray into entertainment technology and consumer electronics.

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors has ousted Carly Fiorina, the high-gloss chief executive who hobnobbed with Hollywood stars and graced dozens of magazine covers but who ultimately was unable to meet Wall Street's expectations for the technology behemoth. Grumbling about Fiorina, whom Fortune magazine once proclaimed the most powerful woman in business, began building soon after she masterminded the 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp.