Meg Whitman's first report card as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) comes this afternoon when the company announces fourth-quarter earnings.
In the 60 days since she took the job, Whitman has settled on a strategy (keep HP in the PC business), worked to raise employee morale (terrible after three CEO ousters), and lifted the stock (up 12% since her appointment). But the former eBay (EBAY) chief, who lost her race for governor of California a year ago, has an enormous challenge ahead in reviving America's largest technology company.
"There is a bit of post-traumatic stress syndrome in the organization," she admitted at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit early last month, just days after she began the HP job. In a candid interview with Nina Easton, Fortune's Washington editor, Whitman compared HP to California--surprisingly, almost the same size by several key measures. But Whitman feels a lot more comfortable in one realm than the other, as she told us at the Summit.
Click here for the full transcript of the interview with Whitman at the MPW Summit.
Since she arrived from Starbucks (SBUX) in 2008, Christine Day has done a remarkable job building Lululemon (LULU). Once just a retailer for yoga enthusiasts, Lululemon is now a fast-growing lifestyle brand. The stock has more than tripled in three years.
Day has never put herself in the spotlight, but Fortune's online readers clearly recognize how effective she is. The results of our just-released Businessperson of the Year poll show that MORE
Patricia Sellers - Nov 17, 2011 3:59 PM ET
The best CEOs, I've learned in my 27 years at Fortune, come to the job with a deep-seated passion and a very personal view of what they want to accomplish.
PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi may be struggling lately. Yes, investors are impatient with her healthy-products strategy, the stock is down, and the Pepsi boss dropped to No. 2 behind Kraft Foods (KFT) CEO Irene Rosenfeld on the 2011 Most Powerful Women list.
But MORE
Patricia Sellers - Nov 10, 2011 11:14 AM ET
When Frances Hesselbein was CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, she believed that "only the best is good enough for those who serve girls." Her philosophy drove a turnaround of that struggling organization and led to friendships with CEOs like Alan Mulally of Ford (F) and management master Peter Drucker.
Hesselbein met Drucker at New York's University Club in 1981--an encounter that turned out to be life-changing. After leading the MORE
Colleen Leahey, Reporter - Nov 9, 2011 12:18 PM ET
This morning—one day after IBM disclosed that Ginni Rometty will be its new chief--pharma company Mylan announced that Heather Bresch is its new leader.
And with that, the number of female Fortune 500 CEOs reaches a record 18. Here are the women leading America's largest corporations, with their company's rank in the Fortune 500.
11. Meg Whitman - Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
18. Ginni Rometty - IBM (IBM)
39. Patricia A. Woertz - Archer Daniels Midland MORE
Patricia Sellers - Oct 26, 2011 10:52 AM ET
Photo by Asa Mathat
Ginni Rometty is the next CEO of IBM, the company announced this afternoon.
With that news comes a stunning stat: America's two largest tech companies will be headed by women.
Meg Whitman, who built eBay (EBAY), became CEO of Hewlett-Packard last month.
H-P (HPQ) is No. 11 on the Fortune 500. IBM (IBM) is No. 18.
Both women spoke at the recent Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. Rometty's main message MORE
Patricia Sellers - Oct 25, 2011 5:41 PM ET
While Steve Jobs' greatest legacy is Apple (AAPL), many people forget that the bulk of his wealth comes from Walt Disney (DIS), where he was the largest shareholder and an incomparable influence on how to delight and entertain kids.
"He did things because they were fun and cool," moviemaker George Lucas told me this morning, summing up Jobs' magic formula. Jobs' journey into the entertainment business began with Lucas, who sold him a MORE
Patricia Sellers - Oct 6, 2011 3:33 PM ETIBM's Ginni Rometty
Ginni Rometty, the woman who may well be the next CEO of IBM (IBM), dodged the question about her next career turn in this morning's interview at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. But no matter, she eagerly tossed out tips that she has used to get very, very close to the top. Here's Rometty's best advice:
1. "Growth and comfort do not coexist," says SVP Rometty, who is No. 7 MORE
Patricia Sellers - Oct 5, 2011 12:30 PM ET
The just released Fortune Most Powerful Women list includes more Fortune 500 CEOs than ever. And next week's Most Powerful Women Summit includes plenty of them--Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo (PEP), Ellen Kullman of DuPont (DD), Pat Woertz of ADM (ADM), Denise Morrison of Campbell Soup (CPB)...plus one guy who manages to secure an invitation to the Summit every year. Warren Buffett. Fortune senior editor at large Carol Loomis will interview MORE
Patricia Sellers - Sep 30, 2011 2:40 PM ET
Mark Zuckerberg has upped the ante in his dietary adventure. As we reported last May on Fortune.com, the Facebook CEO pledged that this year "the only meat I'm eating is from animals I've killed myself." He started out by slaughtering a pig, goat and chicken. Now the Silicon Valley billionaire has expanded his menu. Zuckerberg has learned to hunt, according to people close to him. He got a hunting license MORE
Patricia Sellers - Sep 27, 2011 1:26 PM ET
For the latest on the most influential women in business, philanthropy, government, and the arts, like us on Facebook. 
In a funny and candid interview, Google VP Marissa Mayer explains how she got to the top. Watch
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns shares how she once accepted a job with Dell but ended up staying with Xerox. Watch
Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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Fortune Most Powerful Women
Sheryl Sandberg:
Gina Bianchini
