Carly Fiorina's
Testimony
"The technology
industry would not exist without the contributions
of Arab mathematicians"
In one of her lectures, Carly Fiorina, the CEO of
Hewlett-Packard, said:
" I’ll end by telling a story.
There was once a civilization that was the
greatest in the world.
It was able to
create a continental super-state that stretched
from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to
tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived
hundreds of millions of people, of different
creeds and ethnic origins.
One of its
languages became the universal language of much of
the world, the bridge between the peoples of a
hundred lands. Its armies were made up of people
of many nationalities, and its military protection
allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had
never been known. The reach of this
civilization’s commerce extended from Latin
America to China, and everywhere in between.
And this
civilization was driven more than anything, by
invention. Its architects designed buildings that
defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the
algebra and algorithms that would enable the
building of computers, and the creation of
encryption. Its doctors examined the human body,
and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers
looked into the heavens, named the stars, and
paved the way for space travel and exploration.
Its writers
created thousands of stories. Stories of courage,
romance and magic. Its poets wrote of love, when
others before them were too steeped in fear to
think of such things.
When other
nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization
thrived on them, and kept them alive. When censors
threatened to wipe out knowledge from past
civilizations, this civilization kept the
knowledge alive, and passed it on to others.
While modern
Western civilization shares many of these traits,
the civilization I’m talking about was the
Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which
included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of
Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened
rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent.
Although we are
often unaware of our indebtedness to this other
civilization, its gifts are very much a part of
our heritage. The technology industry would not
exist without the contributions of Arab
mathematicians."
Reference:
A
lecture titled: What does our future demand of
leaders today?
Carleton S. (Carly)
Fiorina is chairman and chief executive officer of
Hewlett-Packard Company. HP is a leading global
provider of computing and imaging solutions and
services and is focused on making technology and
its benefits accessible to all.
Since joining HP
in July 1999, Fiorina has led HP's reinvention as
a company that makes the Internet work for
businesses and consumers. Under her leadership, HP
has returned to its roots of innovation and
inventiveness and is focused on delivering the
best total customer experience.
Prior to joining
HP, she spent nearly 20 years at AT&T and
Lucent Technologies, where she held a number of
senior leadership positions in sales and
marketing. As president of Lucent's Global Service
Provider Business, she expanded the company's
international business and spearheaded the
planning and execution of its initial public
offering and subsequent spin-off from AT&T.
Fiorina holds a
bachelor's degree in medieval history and
philosophy from Stanford University; a master's
degree in business administration from the Robert
H. Smith School of Business at the University of
Maryland at College Park, Md.; and a master of
science degree from MIT's Sloan School. In July
2001, she was named an Honorary Fellow of London
Business School. She serves on the board of Cisco
Systems and was previously a board member of the
Kellogg Company and Merck & Company.
