It's official: Former Hewlett-Packard Co. (NASDAQ:HPQ) chief Carly Fiorina is preparing a run for the U.S. Senate. In an
opinion piece in Wednesday's Orange County Register, Firoina announced her upcoming candidacy with the aim of increasing jobs and reducing spending. She will be gunning for the Republican nomination to run for the seat of longtime incumbent California Democrat Barbara Boxer.
Fiorina, who was an economic adviser last year on Sen. John McCain's failed presidential bid, was ousted from HP in early 2005 after a stormy five-and-a-half years as the company's CEO. She engineered the company's acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. in 2001, a deal that was widely derided but eventually ended up a
relatively good move for HP, especially once new chief Mark Hurd took over. However, her ouster was not directly related to the troubled merger, but rather her efforts to spy on directors and journalists concerning leaks that led to her ultimate firing.
According to an
Associated Press report, Boxer's aides are a bit concerned by the formidable war chest Fiorina assembled during her HP tenure. A Boxer spokesperson said that Fiorina earned $100 million while at HP and signaled that the incumbent senator intends to attack her challengers record of job cuts while at the tech giant, especially after the Compaq deal, the AP said.
Fiorina's bid follows another former big tech company CEO's running
announcement: Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay Inc. (NASDAY:EBAY), who
unveiled her candidacy, also as a Republican, for California governor early this year. -
Olaf de Senerpont Domis
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Just what does 'good move for HP' actually mean ?
Good for employees ? I don't think so. Pay cuts and firings abound.
Good for customers ? err no wrong again. HP products and services are poorer than ever.
So who wins ? The executive team, especially Mark Hurd.
Wake up guys Capitalism is broken, they are sending our jobs overseas and making obscene bonuses for doing so.
Mark Hurd will leave HP in 2010. It is our job to ensure he doesn't do the same to another company.