PALO ALTO (dpa-AFX) - Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., has formally announced her candidacy for President of the United States on Monday. The former business executive now becomes the second woman to enter the presidential campaign.
Fiorina said on Monday during an interview on ABC News' 'Good Morning America' show, 'I think I'm the best person for the job because I understand how the economy actually works. I understand the world; who's in it, how the world works.'
Fiorina said she will seek the Republican nomination for president and is likely to be the only woman in the rapidly expanding Republican field.
She has said her nomination would neutralize any gender advantage that potential Democratic candidate and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, currently enjoys. Fiorina has been highly critical of Clinton.
Fiorina is positioning herself as a conservative, pro-business Republican.
Fiorina, now aged 60, served as CEO of HP from 1999 to 2005 after being an executive at AT&T and its spin-off, Lucent. She was considered one of the most powerful women in business during her tenure at Lucent and HP.
However, she was ousted from the top job at HP by the company's board in 2005 after a management struggle. This is likely to be targeted by her opponents. During her tenure at HP, Fiorina spearheaded a contentious merger with rival computer company Compaq and also ordered the layoffs of 30,000 HP employees.
A native of Austin, Texas, Fiorina is also seen as lacking political experience. She served as an advisor to Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. She was also the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from California in 2010, but lost to incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer.
In a crowded Republican Field that includes other better-known-candidates such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Fiorina, along with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee will be the three new Republican candidates to enter the 2016 race this week. However, they are seen as facing long odds of success.
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