Carly Fiorina

Carly Fiorina is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hewlett-Packard (HP) and the current Chair of the non-profit philanthropic organization Good360. A highly accomplished former business executive, she became the first woman to head a company listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, when in 1999 she was chosen as the CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). The first woman to lead one of the top twenty U.S. companies, she was instrumental in achieving the merger of HP with rival computer company Compaq which resulted in HP becoming the world's largest personal computer manufacturer. The daughter of a prominent judge, Fiorina had decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and enrolled at the law school at the University of California. However, she soon realized that a legal career was not for her and dropped out, much to the chagrin of her father. Eventually she earned an MBA and embarked on a corporate career. Blessed with innate business acumen, she found much success, rising to become one of the most powerful women in American business. She also delved into politics and was once touted as a possible candidate for vice president. Fiorina, however, has higher ambitions and in May 2015, she announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.