Flora Hewlett’s Role In HP Growth

Like Lu Packard (left), Flora Hewlett (center) played an informal but pivotal role in HP’s success. A Berkeley-educated biochemist, her work as an editor for the Annual Review of Biochemistry provided the Hewlett household with a stable, sustaining income while Bill worked to get the company off the ground. When HP did begin to thrive and grow, she shared office duties with Lu, initially working out of the same Addison Avenue shed Bill had lived in prior to their marriage.