Carly Fiorina (2015)
English: Carly Fiorina (born Cara Carleton Sneed; September 6, 1954) is a former business executive who is actively seeking the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States. Starting in 1980, Fiorina rose through the ranks to become an executive at AT&T and its equipment and technology spinoff, Lucent. As chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from 1999 to 2005, she was the first woman to lead one of the top twenty U.S. companies. In 2002, Fiorina pushed through the biggest high-tech merger in history with rival computer company Compaq, which made HP the world's largest personal computer manufacturer. HP gained market share following the merger and subsequently laid off 30,000 of its American workers. Fiorina famously said to Congress in 2004: "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore. We have to compete for jobs as a nation." By the end of 2005, the merged company had more employees worldwide than they had separately before the merger. On February 9, 2005, in the wake of the controversial Compaq merger, and following a 65% drop in the HP stock price, Fiorina was forced to resign as chief executive officer and chairman of Hewlett-Packard in what she described as being "fired in a boardroom brawl". Since then, she has served on the boards of a number of other organizations. Assessments of Fiorina's business career have varied. During her time at Lucent and Hewlett-Packard she was named by Fortune Magazine the most powerful woman in business. However, two days before her ousting from HP, Fortune described her merger plan as "failing" and the prognosis as "doubtful". She has been described as one of the worst tech CEOs of all time, though others have defended her leadership decisions and business reputation. Fiorina served as an advisor to Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. She won a three-way race for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate from California in 2010, but lost the general election to incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. On May 4, 2015, Fiorina announced on Good Morning America that she is running for President of the United States in 2016. Welcome to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference May 21-23 promises to be a rendezvous with destiny in Oklahoma City. The unofficial start of the 2016 Republican Presidential campaign begins here, in the new energy capital of America! The 2016 election will be one of the most important in our lifetime. The choices we make in the next two years will define America for the next 50 years. On behalf of the Oklahoma Republican Party and the entire SRLC Committee, please join us as we begin our shared Republican journey towards capturing the White House and renewing our nation. It is our distinct privilege to invite you to attend the 2015 Southern Republican Leadership Conference, to be held at the Cox Convention Center and Downtown Oklahoma City Renaissance Convention Center Hotel on May 21-23, 2015. We hope you will join us! The SRLC has a star-studded history as one of the premier conferences for all Republicans and conservative activists. This year we anticipate 50 speakers, break-out sessions with energy, utility and manufacturing opinion leaders, and 75 partnering organizations. In addition, we are hosting the largest regional presidential straw poll of the year. We look forward to your participation in this historic conference as we energize the Grand Old Party and America together! SRLC 2015 Committee