Postcards

Carly Fiorina, before she was famous

by Patricia Sellers

Today, two former No. 1's on Fortune's Most Powerful Women list will learn whether they have big new careers ahead -- in politics.

Can women win? Meg, Carly, and Feinstein's view

by Patricia Sellers

This week in Detroit, where I interviewed Charlene Begley--General Electric's (GE) top-ranking female exec and No. 27 on the Fortune Most Powerful Women list--someone in the audience asked: "When will we see women holding half the CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies?"

Whoa! Begley is hardly a shrinking violet, but she lobbed this one to me. And I replied: "Never ever ever ever."

If you're a regular reader of Postcards, you know my view: MORE

Former eBay chief Whitman meets her challenger

It's the newbie against the veteran. Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman met her match today as California Attorney General Jerry Brown declared his candidacy.

The former eBay (EBAY) CEO, whom I profiled last spring in a Fortune cover story called "Can Meg Whitman save California?", now leads her Republican rivals in the gubernatorial race. But she and Brown, a Democrat who served as governor from 1975 to 1983 and ran MORE

Most Powerful Moms: Meg Whitman's was one

Ever since we launched the Fortune Most Powerful Women 12 years ago, we've noticed that behind most every remarkable leader on our list stands another powerful woman. Call her mom.

When I interviewed Carly Fiorina in 1998 for the first MPWomen issue (she was at Lucent (ALU) then and hardly known outside of telecom), she talked passionately about the influence of her mother, who died soon after we put Fiorina on MORE

Can Fiorina and Whitman save California?

Carly Fiorina declared her candidacy for the U.S. Senate--in a bid to replace another well-known woman, incumbent California Democrat Barbara Boxer.

Fiorina, who was No. 1 on Fortune's Most Powerful Women list for six years when she was CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), will be pounding the campaign trail simultaneously with another ex-No. 1 on our list: Meg Whitman. The former eBay (EBAY) CEO, who topped Fortune's power list in 2004 and MORE

Are you situationally aware?

Situational awareness: being aware of what's happening around you to understand how information, events, and your own actions will impact your goals and objectives.

This is how Wikipedia defines this concept that's been bandied about a lot lately, since those Northwest (DAL) pilots got distracted on their laptops and flew wayyyy beyond Minneapolis, their destination. Whatever the rogue navigators were viewing or doing on their mini computer screens, they were oblivious MORE

10 surprising stats from the Summit

Last week's Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit was teeming with experts. They offered points and opinions on so many topics, with data to back it all up. Here, some of our favorite stats:

1. The No. 1 quality that successful business leaders have in common is that they started a business at a young age. --Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) (Click for video of Summit interview with Buffett.)

2. MORE

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman to formally announce GOP gubernatorial candidacy

Today, former eBay (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman will formally announce her bid for the GOP nomination for the 2010 California gubernatorial race. Whitman wants to cut state spending by another $15 billion and create 2 million private-sector jobs by 2015, according to a speech prepared for today's announcement in Fullerton, Calif.

But Whitman's candidacy has been in the works for a while. In March, Pattie wrote a Fortune cover story called MORE

The "Gavinator" and Meg Whitman's big money

Yesterday's New York Times Magazine cover story, "The Gavinator?!?!"--about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the field of colorful candidates vying to succeed California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger--was breezily entertaining. So breezy that it skipped a few important points.

And having written a Fortune cover story, "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" about one of those  gubernatorial rivals, I can't resist weighing in...

First, on the money. It's strange that yesterday's New York Times MORE

Global mentoring program kicks off in DC

I'm on the run in Washington, following meetings at the White House yesterday and a spectacular "Most Powerful Women Evening With..." dinner that Fortune hosted on Monday night in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department. We had eight U.S. Senators with us--including our speakers, Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas--and scores of women leaders, a touch of royalty (HM Queen Noor, who is MORE