FACTBOX: McCain advocate Carly Fiorina

(Reuters) - Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive who is a senior adviser to U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain, discussed his economic views in an interview with Reuters on Monday.

Here are some facts about Fiorina.

* Fiorina, 54, is the Republican National Committee's "Victory" chairwoman, and is one of a number of technology leaders who support McCain's U.S. presidential campaign. She is often on the campaign trail with McCain and explains his economic policies.

* Texas-born Fiorina worked as a secretary at Hewlett-Packard Co while studying at Stanford University. She became the first outsider to head HP in 1999 and was the most powerful woman in American business at the time.

* Given the mandate to revitalize Silicon Valley's original start-up, Fiorina oversaw what had been the largest merger in the U.S. technology sector when Hewlett-Packard bought rival computer maker Compaq Computer Corp in 2002. She staked her career and reputation on the $19 billion deal, which was contested by Walter Hewlett, a scion of one of HP's founding families.

* Fiorina was forced out as chairman and chief executive of Hewlett-Packard in February 2005 because of the poor performance of the company after the merger. She ended a tumultuous 5 1/2-year tenure with a $21 million severance package.

(Writing by Tiffany Wu, editing by Peter Cooney)