Fiorina for Vice President?
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Remember Carly Fiorina? Sure you do. It you're a solution provider, surely you have vivid memories of her tenure as CEO of HP, when the company seemed bent on competing with VARs on even the smallest deals thinkable. When Fiorina was shown the door in 2005, let's just say not too many channel partners were pulling out handkerchiefs. And, one presumes, not too many HP employees either. Well, at least not the thousands she laid off. Fiorina held so much promise when she took the reins at HP in 1999, but then the economy went south, the tech industry took a huge hit, and Dell's direct model appeared invincible. Then came HP's Compaq acquisition, which was followed by several years of inconsistent quarterly results, during which Fiorina's star dimmed. Indeed, when she left HP, it was as fallen star. The benefits of the Compaq merger were questionable, the company's vision was blurry and the stock was worth less than when Fiorina took over. By most objective accounts, Fiorina's record as a CEO was decidedly less than stellar. Unless you take into account the $21 million severance she walked out with, calling her tenure a success might be a stretch. So, then, why would a presidential candidate take advice from her? Wouldn't you want to surround yourself with successful people with proven track records? Apparently not, if you're John McCain. Not only is Fiorina a campaign economic adviser, she is often making stump appearances for the Republican candidate. And now word is out that she may be a vice president contender. According to Politico.com, Fiorina is one of three women who may be considered for the veep slot. Presumably, if McCain picked a woman as a running mate, female supporters of Hillary Clinton's failed primary bid would flock to the Republican candidate, never mind his stance on potential Supreme Court nominees. Come to think of it, what is his stance? In February he was praising Still-President Bush nominees Alito and Roberts, but just the other day he reportedly was hyping his support of Clinton appointees Ginsberg and Breyer. Not coincidentally, Fiorina also has gone out of her way to praise Hillary Clinton, even expressing empathy for "what she went through." Ah, don't you love politics? But what should we expect should Fiorina become McCain's running mate? Is she going to push for a merger with China a la HP/Compaq? Should we expect her to remind us there is no God-given right to employment in the United States the next time the country's unemployment figures go up? Or should we just expect Fiorina to push to cut out the middleman, as she attempted to do with the channel, and argue to put government in the hands of corporate boardrooms since they already have so much sway in Washington, anyway?
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Comments (25)
Wow,could you possiblybe an more sarcastic?
I have been successful working in the channel for 25 years, both as a VAR and running globalchannels for vendors large and small and your comments are way off base.
Fiorina was not overly popular with partners becase of channel competition but she did what was necessary in very uncertain economic times to keep HP afloat and as for the Compaq merger, that was undoubtedly one of the smartest moves by a tech CEO in thelast two decades. Compaq was and stillisthe undisputed brand leader in PC's and ask any CIO what he thinks of Compaq servers and you will get a thumbs up.
As for your take on politics you should have simply started the article with an "Obama for President" line. You are certainly enitled to your opinion but htis is not a political forum, it's about business and ight now we need some people in the white house who will take a long hard look at our finances and make some decisions to turn around the situation. We need people who have come frominside of the companies which this country needs have a growing economy, not just a bunch of politicians with no real world experience. A ticket with someone who understnad DC politics and another person who understands corporate America doesn't sound so bad to me.
Just remember change for the sake of change isn't always a good thing....the last eight years prove that fact whenit comes to economics.
Posted by Concerned | July 3, 2008 8:46 AM
Carly Fiorina is nothing more than an abrasive, self serving huckster. Just look at HP during her tenure and then now. Same company but just a different leader; then HP couldn't do anything right and now HP is number one in its market.
We've had two Bush-Cheney terms that have tanked our economy. I surely don't want a continuation of that. Carly would be the kiss of death.
Posted by M Crain | July 3, 2008 10:33 AM
I love it when people decide for all of us what a blog is and is not about. I especially love it when it accompanies a comment stating that this "is not a political forum," followed by "we need some people in the white house who will..."
And evidently spelling and punctuation are not prerequisites for running global channels for large vendors.
Posted by Frumunda Cheez | July 3, 2008 12:30 PM
What the world seems to forget is that when Fiorina was head of Lucent a trained monkey could have done as well. Lucent grew at a time when the telecomm industry couldn't lay fibre cale fast enough. Its growth was further primed by the dot com bubble.
She was a transition leader at HP. She killed the "HP Way" mentality which was probably good but Mark Hurd deserves the credit for what HP is today.
It's always been about Carly, the most self centered individual in the public spotlight. It's not suirprising that she's become the female mouthpiece for John McCain.
Posted by mparentice | July 9, 2008 6:49 AM
Hey, not a bad choice. Good observation.
Posted by John | July 9, 2008 8:49 AM
I read these newsletters for technical information and not personal editorial opinions. If the Channel Insider wants to grind an ax write to the L.A or N.Y Times.
Posted by Geald Cleland | July 9, 2008 9:40 AM
Yes,
In keeping with the original post, don't you love politics. Why would a presidential candidate take advice or surround himself with a Jeremiah Wright, or a Willam Ayers, or a Father Pfleger, or a Louis Farrakhan, then attempt to disown them when it benefits him politically (or so he thinks).
Anyone would be proud to have Carly Fiorina, an outstanding business woman and citizen, on their team.
Now about IT...
Posted by Freedom | July 9, 2008 10:18 AM
I totally agree with Geald's comment about personal or political opinions should not have a place in Channel Insider's newsletter. I subscribe to this newsletter for technical information and channel news only. This article doesn't fit those categories.
Posted by Gary B | July 9, 2008 10:45 AM
To the person called Freedom--WOW are you still drinking the kool-aid??? What a traditional, and useless Republican answer.
The issue is management competence and judgment, not the tangential non-sense you're spouting out. We are now completing 8 years of incompetent management by the administration, but you and your ilk want another 8 years! This just amazes me.
Posted by LCooper | July 9, 2008 11:14 AM
Its amazing .. all over the web these Obamites are shamelessly mouthing the same stories..comments on blogs etc. Now we have the newest.. Even ChannelInsider has taken a stance..decidedly anti Mccain..I guess the fact that Hp is flying high now had nothing to do with Ms. Fiorina, huh. They won't resist any chance to bury Mccain and hawk their agenda..It leaves one to ponder. Who is one minded and ruthlessly subjective?
Posted by adam | July 9, 2008 11:19 AM
Good. We can buy Venezuela and fix the supply chain. Then fire her and put in a head counter to fire the internal support staff. (nevermind.. has already been done once)
Posted by Brett | July 9, 2008 11:31 AM
To Adam,
Correct, the fact that HP is flying high does indeed have nothing to do with Ms. Fiorina. Massive changes were made when she left, which are responsible for HP's success.
I hope she continues to be very involved with McCain's campaign. :-)
Posted by LCooper | July 9, 2008 11:59 AM
People need to lighten up a bit. This is a tongue in cheek post, folks. However, people extolling Carly should at least skim one of the two books about her tenure at HP, or look at her book (where she didn't blame herself for much). McCain has her travelling around so he can attract a certain demographic, including those democratics who have are thinking, "if I can't vote for Hillary, I'm going to vote Republican".
Posted by cdk | July 9, 2008 2:36 PM
I don't want to get to the high emotions that political discussions can generate, but I want to make a few comments.
I think it's ok for the blogger to express his opinion of Carly Fiorina and her nefarious business career, since she was in the tech sector. And to give his opinion on how it reflects on the judgment and economic philosophy of Sen. McCain to have her as an adviser.
I think that both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama would make horrible presidents, but McCain would be slightly less horrible.
I don't like the Democrat party - on principle.
I no longer like the Republican party because it has been thoroughly corrupted by money.
A wonderful example of this was when Sen. McCain went recently to either Ohio or Michigan. He told the former manufacturing workers there, "I know you're eating dirt but free trade is great for our country" (paraphrase). He attempted to tell hard working Americans that it is their fault that they are now beggars. So called "free trade" is good for a small segment of wealthy people but disastrous for the great majority of Americans. "Free trade" is great for him and his golfing buddies, which probably includes good old Carly, but it hasn't been good for anyone else.
So it is quite reasonable for the blogger to point out that a potential president clasps vipers to his bosom, namely this poster girl for modern American management. Which is characterized by:
1. Idolatry of wealth (note I did not say respect for or desire to attain but idolatry)
2. Concern only for themselves and to hell with the corporation and the employees (golden handshakes/parachutes, bonuses, stock options)
3. Short sightedness (how can I pump up this quarter)
4. The morality of a reptile (with apologies to reptiles)
Posted by Paul | July 9, 2008 3:25 PM
Fiorina bought Compaq to increase market share in an unprofitable business. I worked at HP just prior to her arrival and the PC part of HP operated at a loss when all costs were factored in. Then as now the PC group was kept afloat by the printer ink part of the business.
What was truly sad is that the purchase of Compaq was done at a tremendous financial and human cost from which HP is just starting to recover. Even more egregious was the missed opportunity as at the same point in time the dot com implosion was underway.
Thousands of companies with next generation technology in every area of IT were shutting there doors for lack of capital and lack of marketing expertise or product distribution capability. HP was the one company that had all these in large measure and for the amount paid to Compaqs happy shareholders hundreds of dot com companies could have instead been acquired.
What would HP be like today if it had bought into RFID, Wi-FI, digital imaging, and Web technology companies? It would not be anywhere near as dependent as it now is on its inkjet business and would be technology leader and manufacturer instead of a inkjet printer company supporting a division selling a commodity product, which is all that Windows PC's are today.
Compare Fiorina's acquisition strategy to that of Adobe and compare the results. Easy to see how "successful" her simplistic strategy was for HP when contrasted with companies such as Adobe, and even IBM. Results are what counts in business.
Posted by Stenman | July 9, 2008 3:30 PM
I am also in agreement with Gary B, and Geald Cleland. This is an inappropriate blog for this venue. I will be sending the CEO of Ziff Davis a letter as to the appropriateness of Pedro Pereira's blog. I did not realize that eWeek condones or has become the new venue for aspiring political pundits, such as Mr. Pereira.
Posted by Greg | July 9, 2008 3:47 PM
Someone call 911. Evidently Greg, Gary and Geald are being held at gunpoint and forced to read this blog. And clicking the back button is apparently NOT an option.
Posted by frumunda cheez | July 9, 2008 4:04 PM
What makes "Pedro Pereira" the expert on Ms. Fiorina? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING************SOUNDS LIKE HES GOT "CARLY ENVY"*****EWEEK TAKE THAT JOKER "PEDRO" AND LET HIM SEND OUT "HIS" (Pedro who?) RESUME****"PEDRO CAN HOP ARE HIS EXPERT QUALIFICATIONS CALL 911 is RIGHT***************
Posted by Alexandra Masson | July 9, 2008 6:39 PM
Yes Pedro should "hop" back to work at "Jack in the Box."
Posted by John Steves | July 9, 2008 6:45 PM
This article belongs in a NY Times or similar slanted media more appropriate for its content and bias. It doesn't belong in technical magazines or technical blogs.
Posted by Bill | July 9, 2008 7:50 PM
I still think the artcile is interesting, even if it is slanted. Now we see why the McCain campaign is always needing more money; look who one of the campiagn econmoic advisors is.
Oh, in 1999, Compaq was not the tops in computers. They sucked, everybody hated their computers and their tech support, and this was before tech support went to India.
Carly Fiona's term at HP was a disaster. Layoffs, self-centerness, poor ideas, a doubious acquisition of Compaq, bad treatment of employees. She ended up costing HP a billion dollars in total losses when she was there.
Thanks to Mark Hurd, HP is now much better off today.
Posted by David Frank | July 9, 2008 10:09 PM
MCCAIN HAS NO PROBLEMS RAISING MONEY MY FRIEND*****OBAMA HAS THE "SUPPORT" OF ALL THE "MUSLIMS" IN THE WORLD*****OBAMA WAS JUST "ENDORSED" BY THE "COMMUNIST PARTY" WHAT A FOOL*****HE NOW LOOKS CONFUSED AND "WASHED" OUT LIKE HIS MONEY TRAIL*****
Posted by Paul Saks | July 10, 2008 6:43 PM
When H3ll freezes over.
Posted by America1st | July 12, 2008 12:37 PM
Fiorina will get the VP nod 24 hours after Obama announces a white male as his VP choice.
Posted by unitra | July 20, 2008 10:22 PM
Carly Fiorina would be a superb vice president for John McCain. Her energy, her age, her economic brilliance would add some pzazz to a floundering campaign and bring the Republicans into the 21st century. A woman CAN succeed.
She fought to buy Compaq and was criticized. Now HP computers outsell Dell. She was right.
Posted by Karolyn | July 24, 2008 2:44 AM