There was an interesting letter to the editor in Sunday's DMR. Now, some of you may think it's sour grapes, or bitterness by someone who lost out on the HP/Compaq deal. That's shortsighted. It's politics now. Fiorina is gaining in the polls, and when you rise you attract attention. Expect to see more of this kind of stuff.
Donald Trump's inane comments about Carly Fiorina's face merely deflect attention from what actually matters - her record as CEO of Hewlett Packard Co. The best measures of a companies performance over time are it's stock price and profitability.
During Fiorina's tenure (1999-2005), HP's stock price fell more than 60 percent, earnings declined 23 percent, and the company recorded it's first-ever annual loss (more than $1 billion, in 2002) after 60 years of profitability. Most of this was triggered by her controversial acquisition of Compaq Computer, which caused the kind of choking fit Dave Packard always warned against when he rejected similar proposals. The moves was strongly opposed by both the Hewlett and Packard families in a contentious proxy fight that ripped at the heart of a great company. She then laid off 30,000 employees. The day after she was fired, HP stock value soared nearly 7 percent on massive trading volume (12-15 times average).
Those are the facts she should have to defend, not her face.
Roy Verley
Former Director of Corporate Communications, Hewlett-Packard.
I've seen other publications mention the divisive nature of her leadership style, and rigidity in decision making skills. It will be interesting to see comes forward with other criticisms of the HP/Compaq merger. There was a lot of passion in that move, and even with the passage of time I am sure a lot of people will be willing to talk forcefully against Fiorina's leadership.
Donald Trump's inane comments about Carly Fiorina's face merely deflect attention from what actually matters - her record as CEO of Hewlett Packard Co. The best measures of a companies performance over time are it's stock price and profitability.
During Fiorina's tenure (1999-2005), HP's stock price fell more than 60 percent, earnings declined 23 percent, and the company recorded it's first-ever annual loss (more than $1 billion, in 2002) after 60 years of profitability. Most of this was triggered by her controversial acquisition of Compaq Computer, which caused the kind of choking fit Dave Packard always warned against when he rejected similar proposals. The moves was strongly opposed by both the Hewlett and Packard families in a contentious proxy fight that ripped at the heart of a great company. She then laid off 30,000 employees. The day after she was fired, HP stock value soared nearly 7 percent on massive trading volume (12-15 times average).
Those are the facts she should have to defend, not her face.
Roy Verley
Former Director of Corporate Communications, Hewlett-Packard.
I've seen other publications mention the divisive nature of her leadership style, and rigidity in decision making skills. It will be interesting to see comes forward with other criticisms of the HP/Compaq merger. There was a lot of passion in that move, and even with the passage of time I am sure a lot of people will be willing to talk forcefully against Fiorina's leadership.
