Fiorina's new role trades on time at HP

Not for her -not yet, at least. But for John McCain.

Fiorina, 53, joined the Republican senator's presidential campaign this spring. She brings with her a long list of wealthy friends and supporters and intimate insight into how some of the largest corporations work, having been at the helm of Hewlett-Packard Co. and before that, senior management at AT&T Inc. and its spinoff Lucent Technologies.

While the new gig is her first in politics, her name already has been tossed around as a possible vice presidential running mate. McCain has said he's not as strong on economics as he is on national security, so he needs accomplished business leaders, like Fiorina, advising him.

But Fiorina's resume isn't without its blemishes, and some observers have been merciless about her performance at HP. They also say her lack of a public policy record will be hard to overcome as she travels the country on behalf of McCain.

"She almost destroyed one of the nation's great corporate treasures -she made a mess of HP, she made it an extraordinarily unpleasant place to work," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management and longtime critic of Fiorina's. "She represents sizzle over steak and style over substance -that would damage the integrity and credibility of the McCain campaign."

Fiorina became chief executive of Palo Alto-based HP in 1999 after spending nearly two decades at AT&T Inc., where she made a star turn as a fast-rising saleswoman, and Lucent Technologies, where she directed the initial public offering of stock and spinoff from AT&T.

At HP, she was known as a divisive manager, who made sweeping moves to try and wrestle the technology icon into the Internet age.

But she also used charm and diplomacy to push through one of her biggest achievements there: engineering HP's $24 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer. The deal was bitterly contested by descendants of HP's founders but squeaked by 51 percent to 49 percent in a contentious proxy battle.

But Fiorina was pushed out of HP in 2005 over the computer and printer maker's spotty financial performance that hurt the stock -which sank 56 percent on her watch -and impatience by investors who were tired of waiting for her changes to pay off.