Hewlett-Packard (HP) is a company unlike any other. They serve everyone from consumers to small and mid-sized businesses to enterprises to public sector customers with an extensive portfolio of market-leading solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of each customer segment. In July 1999, Carly Fiorina joined HP as chief executive officer, and was named chairman a year later. A computer maker, HP was the largest business in the country run by a woman. But her initial success at Hewlett-Packard began to falter with the $19 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer in 2002, referred to by some as "Fiorina's Folly." The deal was vehemently opposed by the heirs of HP's founders. Fiorina prevailed, but most industry analysts considered the acquisition a mistake, and HP's stock stagnated in the two years following the merger. Fiorina was also faulted for not fostering HP's long tradition as an innovator. In Feb. 2005, her six-year tenure at Hewlett-Packard ended when she was abruptly ousted. According to HP, the departure stemmed from disagreements over how to execute the company's strategy. Within that time, Fiorina led the reinvention of the company many associate with the birth of Silicon Valley by returning HP to its roots of innovation and invention, reorganizing it to be more agile and competitive, and charting a new strategy to use HP's depth and breadth to help customers and consumers prosper in the digital age. She also led the company's 2002 merger with Compaq Computer, one of the largest high-tech mergers in history. Fiorina not only brought leadership to HP but also savvy marketing and sales techniques. Her coddling of customers at Lucent was legendary.
During her time at HP, Carly Fiorina made some very bad career decisions ...