Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO, to launch presidential bid: reports

Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive officer Carly Fiorina will launch her campaign for the 2016 U.S. Republican presidential nomination on May 4, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Fiorina will announce her candidacy online and hold a conference call for the media, the newspaper said, citing a person with knowledge of her plans. She would join U.S. senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul as declared Republican candidates.

Fiorinawas oustedas head of the information technology company in 2005 after clashing with shareholders for several years over controversial decisions, such as the acquisition of Compaq, which was opposed by Walter Hewlett,the son of HP's founder, and other members of the Hewlett family.

Fiorinamade a failed bid for the California Senate in 2010, losing to Democrat Barbara Boxer by 10 percentage points.