HP announced Fiorina's new role on September 22, 2000, less than 14 months after she had been hired away from Lucent Technologies to become President and CEO at HP. She replaces Richard Hackborn, a Director of HP, who has been serving as non-executive chairman since the first of the year.

Hackborn is quoted in the HP press release saying "This appointment is a strong vote of confidence in Carly's leadership and the direction she has set for the company over the past 14 months."

Results Talk
When Fiorina took over last July, HP's stock (NYSE - HWP) was trading in the mid 80's. During her tenure it has fallen as low as 67 and then climbed to 156. On the day of the announcement, September 22, 2000, the stock closed at 104.

Earning, however, have gone steadily upward during the four quarters Fiorina has been at the helm, rising from $0.75 per share for the third quarter (Q3) of 1999 to $0.97 for Q2 of 2000.

Strategy Is Key
HP has made significant strategic acquisitions under Fiorina's leadership. She spoke about two of them during an address to Investors at S.G. Cowen's Fall Technology Conference, just a week before her appointment as chairman was announced.

HP's announced intention of purchasing the Price-Waterhouse (PwC) management consulting business is intended to help HP grow that arm of their business faster than they could internally. It represents a major step in support of their desire to provide their clients with business strategy and technology implementation from a single source.

Price-Waterhouse management consulting earned approximately $7 billion in consulting revenues in their fiscal year 2000 and they are world-wide. Both of they are attractive to HP.

HP also announced a broad strategic alliance with Indigo, a leader in high-end digital commercial printing. The alliance is aimed at more than adding to the HP corporate portfolio. HP recognizes that the $500 billion commercial printing industry can be transformed by bringing it into the digital age. The intend to lead that transformation.

Leadership
Hackborn acknowledged "Carly's leadership and the direction she has set for the company" in the announcement of her appointment as chairman. I believe that it was more than incidental. I believe that it is specifically because her leadership, rather than for the financial successes it has achieved, that Fiorina has been given all three top posts at HP.

When HP hired Fiorina as President and CEO in July, 1999 then CEO Lew Platt said "One of the things we concluded was that we were just not moving quickly enough. Fiorina was selected, in part, for her perceived ability to impart "Speed and a sense of urgency" to HP's move into the Internet." When a company wants to move swiftly into new territory, it needs a leader. Clearly, Fiorina has proven to be that leader for HP's move into the internet age.

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John Reh
Management Guide