Carly Fiorina’s focused, businesslike presentation at the lesser of two Republican presidential debates propelled her toward the spotlight. Its glare will also fall upon her tenure as chief executive officer at Hewlett-Packard Co.
Fiorina has touted her rise to the top from a start as a secretary at a small real estate company. After a rocket-like ascent, she was fired from HP in early 2005 amid tumult with her board of directors after missing Wall Street expectations too often and the company’s stock price falling 54 percent on her watch.
