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Carly Fiorina          

Businesswoman, First Woman to Lead a Fortune Top 20 Company & Former CEO of HP

Carly Fiorina is a businesswoman and political figure, known primarily for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). She subsequently served as Chair of the philanthropic organization Good360.

As Chief Executive Officer of HP from 1999 to 2005, Fiorina was the first woman to lead a Top 20 company as ranked by Fortune Magazine. In 2002, Fiorina oversaw what was then the largest technology sector merger in history, in which HP acquired rival personal computer manufacturer, Compaq. The transaction made HP the world's largest seller of personal computers.

Fiorina was an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. In 2010, she won the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in California, but lost the general election to incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. Fiorina also ran in the Republican presidential primary in 2016, eventually dropping out and becoming Ted Cruz's VP pick for a total of seven days before he suspended his campaign.

Fiorina is also a breast cancer survivor, having been diagnosed in 2009 and subsequently undergoing a double mastectomy.

Speech Topics


Getting Down to Business: How Corporate America Can and Must Change Washington

Carly Fiorina is one of the world’s best known business leaders from her days at AT&T, Lucent, and as Chairman and CEO of HP. She chose to enter the political fray, first as Victory Chair for John McCain’s bid for the Presidency, and later, in her own campaign for the Senate challenging California four-term Senator Barbara Boxer. With no regrets and valuable lessons learned, Carly provides a business person’s view on politics and an insider’s view on political campaigns, a strikingly rare and valuable combination. She offers a peerless perspective on why business and politics must mix, why the private sector needs to take a more active role in politics, and how businesses can be more effective in engaging with Washington. As people seek solutions amid the din of partisan politics and ploys, Carly deftly demonstrates why we must return to a citizen government vs. allowing politicians to play politics as usual.

From Secretary to CEO: Lessons from a Lifetime of Effective Leadership

Leading an organization, effectively empowering employees, and maintaining industry dominance simultaneously is not an easy task but is the daily challenge organizational leaders must conquer to be prosperous and profitable. As CEO of the world’s first $100 billion information technology company, Carly Fiorina is all too familiar with the complex, arduous path these individuals tread and the far-reaching strategic decisions they must make with finesse and fortitude.

A passionate business evangelist who made tough choices in the pursuit of growing her organizations, Carly delivers a powerful, pragmatic presentation on what leaders must do to achieve their desired results including the critical steps they must take to turn failing situations into successes. Carly began her business career as a secretary and achieved the pinnacle of corporate success. Drawing on this experience, she highlights the importance of unlocking potential in others. She passionately believes that leaders are made, not born, and that leadership potential exists at every level of an organization. “Anyone can lead, at any time, from anywhere. Leadership is not about title, position or wealth. It is about making a positive difference.”

Building a High Performance Culture in Uncertain Economic Times Getting Down to Business: How Corporate America Can and Must Change Washington

As the CEO of HP, Carly Fiorina tackled issues of product focus and innovation, merger and integration, structure and process, reward and recognition all of which significantly impact an organization’s culture. Her efforts played out during the dot.com boom and bust and the worst technology recession in 25 years. Her phenomenal success of transforming the complacent culture at HP into a dynamic, innovative environment that rose to become the industry leader is a testament to the solid management philosophy and practices she instituted while there. From this experience, Carly shares her personal account of what it takes to create a high-performance culture and organization. She also openly discusses the difficult path of major acquisition and transformational change. With many organizations adjusting to the new realities of what the financial crisis has wrought, navigating uncertainty, managing change and building a high performance culture are critical to a motivated, focused and productive workforce.

Capitalism in Crisis: Effectively Managing Short-Term Gains with Long-Term Success

In this century of advanced technology and globalization, sustainable growth is increasingly being sacrificed for short term profits by myopic business leaders and corporate boards beholden to share price and market fluctuations. However, this strategy is placing companies – and entire economies in peril and is untenable for a secure economic future. Faced with this rapidly developing danger, what needs to happen for capitalism to survive – and thrive?

Carly Fiorina began her career as a secretary for a small business. She became the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company and was named Fortune’s Most Powerful Woman in Business for six consecutive years. She has also served on the boards of the Kellogg Company, Cisco Systems, Merck and Taiwan Semiconductor. Her hard-earned experience gives her unmatched insights on the challenges of balancing short- term profits and long-term sustainable growth. Drawing from first-hand knowledge, Carly offers a realistic, practical perspective on the smart business of good citizenship so business leaders and board members can fulfill all their responsibilities to shareholders, employees, customers and communities.

The Crossroads of Commerce: Where Business, Politics, and Public Policy Collide

In this high-stakes political year with ramifications for every business regardless of election outcome, the perspectives of a unique leader with exceptional experience in business, politics and policy is critical to future planning. Can government policies keep pace with technology and globalization? Is regulation striking the right balance to ensure economic growth?

Carly Fiorina is one of those rare individuals who has been Chairman and CEO of a Fortune 20 company, served on corporate boards, run for political office, and provided trusted policy advice to federal agencies including the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce. This career span and set of experiences bestows her with an unparalleled perspective on our nation’s most complex issues. With deep knowledge and brilliant insight, Carly discusses the role of the private sector in restoring confidence, the vital nature of small business, and how organizations can successfully capitalize on the opportunities of a dynamic global marketplace.

Not Politics as Usual: Bold Perspectives and Astute Insight on Today’s Political and Economic Issues

As Washington throws more money, and fewer good solutions, at long standing social and economic problems, Americans are quickly losing patience, as well as their jobs and homes, with an inefficient public sector and stagnant economy. Growth of government has been energetically advocated as a solution to economic distress and capitalism has been cast as the villain of the economic downturn.

In a rousing, compelling, and enlightening discussion, former U.S. Senate candidate and McCain Republican Victory Chair, Carly Fiorina demonstrates how the government needs to address the right problems to achieve the right results for issues that are vital to America’s future. A credible voice for business and a tireless champion of the private sector, Carly speaks passionately on free enterprise, job creation and individual initiative, believing that people will make better choices for themselves and their families than others can make for them. Her authentic, adroit advocacy is indispensable in the current context of economic recession and political stalemate.

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Will America Keep its Edge? The Global Race for Smart Ideas, Market Share and Economic Power

A renowned business and technology leader, Carly Fiorina cogently illustrates the power of technology and innovation that comprises the core of American competitive advantage and economic prosperity, and explains how the U.S. must lead in the technology-based industries that will define the 21st century including social media, health- and bio-technology as well as energy and space technology. In this eye-opening, insightful and engaging presentation, Carly frames the challenges facing the U.S., addresses the underlying issues, and offers powerful, practical strategies and solutions to marshal America’s vast resources of talent and infrastructure in ways that will lead to transformative results.

What it Takes to Stay Competitive: Sparking Innovation for Business and Economic Growth

Innovation is a requirement for any company that wants to stay ahead of the competition and thrive in the global economy. Innovation is not simply a breakthrough idea, a hot new product or a lucky accident. Instead, consistent and effective innovation requires the focused introduction of new ideas and new ways of doing business. Innovation must be managed, measured and inspected. As the leader of the largest technology company in the world, no one is more qualified to speak about innovation than Carly Fiorina. As an active participant in the public policy and political process, Carly also speaks knowledgeably about the role of government and the impact of regulation and taxation on innovation.

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News


Carly Fiorina on Trump: 'I don't think he has been a business leader ...
Another thing that you write in your book, speaking to the reader, you say, "You are not yet all you can be." So I wanted to ask Carly Fiorina, after AT&T, Lucent ...
2020 election: Carly Fiorina says she'll vote for Joe Biden ...
Former 2016 Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina says she'll support Joe Biden over President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, calling the ...
Carly Fiorina Says She Will Vote for Joe Biden - The Atlantic
She Wanted to Be a Republican President. She's Voting for Biden. The former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina tells The Ticket that she plans to  ...

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