English: Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (née Sneed; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman. Fiorina is known primarily for her tenure as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hewlett-Packard (HP).

As CEO of HP from 1999 to 2005, Fiorina was the first woman to lead a Top-20 company as ranked by Fortune Magazine.[2] In 2002, Fiorina oversaw what was then the largest technology sector merger in history, in which HP acquired its rival personal computer manufacturer, Compaq.[3][4] HP subsequently eliminated 30,000 U.S. positions, saving 80,000.[5][6][7] In February 2005, she was fired as Chair and CEO after a boardroom disagreement.[8] Fiorina was an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. In 2010, she won the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in California. She lost the general election to incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer.[9][10] Fiorina was a major candidate in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, and was briefly the running mate of Ted Cruz, until he suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016.[11][12] Fiorina made headlines by joining a group of Republicans who opposed Donald Trump even after he secured the Republican presidential nomination.[13][14] On December 19, 2016, after Trump's victory in the election, the Electoral College convened; Fiorina received one electoral vote for Vice President of the United States.[15]

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; /ˈsiːpæk/ see-pak) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU).[1] In 2011, ACU took CPAC on the road with its first Regional CPAC in Orlando, Florida. Since then ACU has hosted regional CPACs in Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, and San Diego. Political front runners take the stage at this convention.

Speakers have included Donald Trump,[2]Ronald Reagan,[3][4][5] George W. Bush,[6] Dick Cheney,[7] Pat Buchanan,[8] Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich,[6] Sarah Palin, Ron Paul,[9] Mitt Romney,[6] Tony Snow,[6] Glenn Beck,[10] Rush Limbaugh,[11] Ann Coulter,[7] Allen West,[12] Michele Bachmann,[13] Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Gary Johnson, Mike Pence, Jeanine Pirro, Betsy DeVos, Lou Dobbs, and other conservative public figures.