Ex-HP chief Fiorina to pen memoir

Carly Fiorina has reached a deal to pen a memoir about her dramatic career, which was put on hold in February following her departure from Hewlett-Packard after a turbulent five-year run as the company's chief executive.

Due out in late 2006 from Penguin USA, Fiorina's book will blend writing about her career with her views on topics such as leadership, how women can thrive in business, and how technology will reshape the world, her publisher says.

During her career, Fiorina rose from secretary to six-time topper of Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" list. After gaining prominence by leading Lucent Technologies' initial public offering spin-off from AT&T, Fiorina was named HP's chief executive in 1999. Her vision for revitalising the company led to its controversial 2002 acquisition of Compaq — which eventually prompted her forced departure from HP when, nearly three years later, the company still struggled to meet shareholders' performance expectations.

Penguin didn't disclose the terms of its contract with Fiorina, but it's a good bet she isn't writing the book for the money. Fiorina picked up US$21 million ($NZ30 million) cash as a severance payment when she left HP.