Carleton S. \\"Carly\\" Fiorina (born Cara Carleton Sneed; September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman. Fiorina served as chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005 and previously was as an executive vice president at AT&T, where she coordinated the spinoff and initial public offering of Lucent.
Fiorina was considered one of the most powerful women in business during her tenure at Lucent and Hewlett-Packard. The spinoff of Agilent Technologies – which had been initiated by her predecessor, Lew Platt – was completed shortly after she joined the company in 1999. Under her leadership, in 2002, the company completed a contentious merger with rival computer company Compaq. In 2005, the Hewlett-Packard board forced Fiorina to resign.
In 2008, Fiorina served as a top economic advisor to Republican presidential candidate John McCain. She currently serves on the boards of several major business organizations.