HP Board outrightly supports Fiorina

Hewlett-Packard took the highly unusual step this past weekend of having one of the members of the company's Board of Directors go public with an endorsement of CEO Carly Fiorina. Board member Sam Ginn told the media that the HP's directors have declared their support for

Fiorina.

The move came after weeks of mounting speculation in the media and within HP that Fiorina was in imminent danger of becoming one of the 10,000 HP workers who to receive a pink slip. Ginn said Fiorina's performance should be measured on a broader basis than the company's recent financial results. "The culture, the inventiveness, customer satisfaction, employee development and financial results all come into it, and in my view the health of the company as a whole is much better than it was two years ago."

Despite the Board current support, Fiorina's position remains weak. She has little near and long-term visibility and the financial results still heading down. Company management, especially in the high-tech industry is often in a state of flux under those circumstances, with the board of directors often dropping even the most popular CEO in a spur of the moment. Examples, include Apple's Steve Jobs and John Sculley, Compaq's Eckhard Pfeiffer, and IBM's John Akers.

Many believe that while it is too early to pass judgment on Fiorina's ability to lead the company onto a path of recovery and new sales and earnings growth, the next three to six months will likely be the window of opportunity Fiorina has to work with.