http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11617445.htmCarly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, spoke publicly for the first time about some of the insults and obstacles she has experienced as a woman in the male-dominated business world -- including being introduced by a former boss as a ``token bimbo'' and going to a strip club for a customer meeting.
On Saturday, Fiorina was the commencement speaker at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she addressed an audience of 14,500. She received a standing ovation after the speech. They were her first public comments since she was ousted from HP in February.
Fiorina was asked to speak before she was fired from Palo Alto-based HP. She said she called the chancellor of the university after she lost her HP job and asked if the school still wanted her as its commencement speaker. Chancellor James Renick replied that she probably had more in common with the students than she did before. ``I've been working on my résumé,'' she joked in the speech. ``I've been lining up my references. I bought a new interview suit. If there are any recruiters here, I'll be free around 11.''
Fiorina, 50, never liked to talk about herself -- or about navigating through a male-dominated business world -- during her nearly six years at HP. But she was relaxed and open in her comments to the students, whom she addressed as ``my fellow job seekers,'' according to text of the remarks distributed by a Fiorina spokeswoman.