Former CEO Fiorina enters White House race

Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina announced on Monday she is running for president, becoming the only woman in the pack of Republican candidates for the White House in 2016.

Once one of the most powerful women in the American corporate world, Fiorina announced her bid on ABC News' "Good Morning America" show.

“Yes, I am running for president. I think I'm the best person for the job because I understand how the economy actually works. I understand the world, who's in it, how the world works,” she said.

Fiorina registers near the bottom of polls of the dozen or so Republican hopefuls and has never held public office. Her announcement follows the entry on Sunday of neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a favorite of the Republican caucus’ conservative tea party. 

After leaving Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina, according to her campaign web site, “served in a large number of advisory and policy making positions for national and state governments.” She currently sits on the board of a number of influential right-wing organizations, including the American Conservative Union Foundation.

Fiorina has already attracted warm receptions at events in the early voting state of Iowa, where she is positioning herself as a conservative, pro-business Republican highly critical of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. 

She holds up her own life as an example of how American business provides opportunities to get ahead. 

“Only in the United States of America can a young woman start as a secretary and work to become chief executive of one of the largest technology companies in the world,” her site says.

Hewlett-Packard forced Fiorina to resign in 2005 after the tech giant struggled to digest a $19 billion merger with Compaq.

Al Jazeera and Reuters