Fiorina, Carly (1954-…), is an American business leader and politician. She gained national attention in 1999 for becoming chief executive officer (CEO) of Hewlett-Packard, a leading computer company. Fiorina was the Republican candidate for a California United States Senate seat in 2010, but she lost the election to Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer.
Cara Carleton Sneed was born on Sept. 6, 1954, in Austin, Texas. Family and friends knew her as Carly. Carly’s family moved frequently during her childhood. She attended several high schools, including one in Ghana and another in England. She earned a bachelor’s degree in medieval history and philosophy from Stanford University in California in 1976. In 1980, she received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland. She then worked for AT&T, a major telecommunications company, as a sales representative. In 1984, Fiorina’s first marriage, to Stanford classmate Todd Bartlem, ended in divorce. She married Frank Fiorina, an AT&T executive, in 1985.
Carly Fiorina won several promotions while working at AT&T. In 1989, she earned a master’s degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. AT&T split into three companies in 1996, and Fiorina was chosen to help lead one of the companies—Lucent Technologies. In 1999, Fiorina was hired as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). At the time, this made HP the largest publicly owned U.S. corporation to be led by a woman. Fiorina led the company into its merger with Compaq Computers in 2002. In 2005, during a period of instability at the company, HP’s board of directors forced Fiorina to resign as chief executive officer.
In 2015, Fiorina began a campaign for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 election. She dropped out of the race in February 2016, however, after disappointing finishes in early nominating contests.
Fiorina has written several books: Tough Choices (2006); Rising to the Challenge: My Leadership Journey (2015); and Find Your Way: Unleash Your Power and Highest Potential (2019).
