Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina speaks out

Former Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) CEO Carly Fiorina, who was ousted from the company in the midst of a bizarre saga of corporate espionage is back. She has signed on a contributor to the new Fox Business Network, and also sat down with Fortune for an interesting interview, responding to questions submitted by the magazine's readers.

Interestingly Fiorina, who was arguably the victim of a trend away from the imperial CEO, seems to be standing up as an advocate of greater shareholder rights:

Do you think CEO compensation is out of whack? - Terry Irish, Hudson, Mass.

Sometimes. CEO compensation needs to be voted upon by shareholders in terms of the policies that will be used. There can't be any hidden surprises, like, Whoops, we forgot to tell you about a $200 million retirement package. What we ought not to do is regulate or legislate CEO compensation.

She's exactly right, and has a lot of other interesting things to say in the Fortune interview. While her reputation took quite a hit in the wake of her untimely departure from HP, she appears to be rebuilding herself quickly.