Carly Fiorina’s ups and downs at Hewlett-Packard
The boldest line on Carly Fiorina's resume is her tenure as chief executive of the Silicon Valley giant Hewlett-Packard. But it was a stormy period that resulted in Fiorina's messy ouster. Her generous severance package helped ease her entry into politics.
July 1999: Carleton “Carly” Fiorina named chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, becoming the first woman to lead a blue-chip company.
September 2000: Fiorina named chairwoman of HP.
November 2000: HP's stock drops sharply when its fourth-quarter earnings fall short of Wall Street expectations. HP abandons its proposed purchase of Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
July 2001: The company announces 6,000 job cuts, more than 6% of its workforce.
September 2001: Fiorina announces that HP will buy Compaq Computer Corp.
November 2001: The family of Hewlett-Packard's co-founder says it will vote against the Compaq deal.
March 2002: HP and Compaq shareholders approve the merger, a$19-billion stock deal.
November 2002: HP's president resigns and is not replaced, consolidating Fiorina's control.
August 2004: HP ousts three top managers and reports lower profit than anticipated.
December 2004: Fiorina announces that the company will buy back $2.9 billion in stock and aim for consistent profit after the roller-coaster results of recent years.
January 2005: The company combines its profitable printer unit with its struggling PC division.
February 2005: Fiorina resigns as CEO and chairwoman.
Graphics reporting by Scott Wilson.
Sources: FactSet Research, Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Times Research
