UCLA Engineering: UCLA Engineer Fall 2004

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HP Gives 2004 Engineering Commencement Address

Carly Fiorina, chairman and chief executive officer of HP, delivered the commencement address to nearly 900 graduates and their families at the 2004 ceremonies for the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Fiorina joined HP, a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services, in July 1999, and led the company’s merger with Compaq, now recognized as the most successful high-tech merger in history. Prior to joining HP, Fiorina spent nearly 20 years at AT&T and Lucent Technologies, where she held a number of senior leadership positions.

“...Science and engineering and technology are the language of the 21st century. I honestly believe that for all the scientific advancements that we have seen the past 100 years, we will look back on the 20th century as a warm up act for the era we are moving into now. From biomedicine to telecommunications to information technology to digital entertainment, we are moving into the main event of science and innovation and engineering, a time when these disciplines can change lives and solve fundamental problems that have plagued humanity for centuries…I see every day what technology, when combined with the aspirations and capabilities of talented people, can do to solve real human problems… the best part about it is that the people bringing this change aren’t politicians or philanthropists or CEOs; they’re computer scientists, and engineers...”

Fiorina’s complete commencement address is available online at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/speeches/fiorina/ucla04.html.