Meg Whitman
Meg Whitman | |
|---|---|
 Meg Whitman in 2007. | |
| Born | Margaret Cushing Whitman August 4, 1956 |
| Occupation(s) | former President and CEO, eBay |
| Spouse | Griffith Rutherford Harsh IV |
| Children | 2 |
Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman[2] (born August 4, 1956)[3] was President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay from March 1998 to March 2008, when she stepped down from her role. She has been a director since March 1998, and continues to serve in that capacity. Ms. Whitman joined eBay when it was a small auction website with 30 employees and revenues of more than $4 million. According to Forbes magazine, Whitman was worth an estimated $1.4 billion in 2007.[1] She is one of only seven women to have been repeatedly ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine.[4] Whitman was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate for presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain until McCain picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Whitman also has singing aspirations and reportedly auditioned for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in August 2008. She is a cousin of the choir's music director, Mack Wilberg.
Background and education
Whitman was born in Long Island, New York, the daughter of Hendricks Hallett Whitman and Margaret (Goodhue) Whitman.[5][6] Whitman attended Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Economics from Princeton University where she was a member of the student organization Business Today. She received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979.[7]
Career
Before eBay, Ms. Whitman was with toymaker Hasbro Inc., overseeing global management and marketing of two of the world's best-known children's brands, Playskool and Mr. Potato Head. Prior to Hasbro, Meg was president and CEO of Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD), the world's largest floral products company. In previous years, she held executive positions at the Stride Rite Corporation and at the Walt Disney Company. Meg also worked for eight years at Bain & Company's San Francisco office, where she was a vice president. She began her career in 1979 at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ms. Whitman also serves on the boards of the eBay Foundation, Procter & Gamble and DreamWorks Animation. [7]
Philanthropy
Whitman has donated more than $30 million to her alma mater, Princeton University. The donation has allowed the construction of the university's sixth residential college, Whitman College, which opened in Fall 2007.[8][9]
Political activities
Whitman has made numerous political donations to various candidates and PACs. While these have gone to both Republican and Democratic beneficiaries, the donations seem to be weighted to Republican politicians such as Orrin Hatch, Charles Pickering, and George Allen. [10]
Whitman was a supporter of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign [11][12] in 2008 and was on his "National Finance Team".[13] She was also listed as Finance co-chair of Romney's campaign exploratory committee. [14] After Romney stepped out of the race, Whitman joined John McCain's presidential campaign as a national co-chair. [15]
She has political ambitions of her own and is considering a run for Governor of California in the 2010 election.[16] Whitman was also named as a dark horse candidate for the Vice Presidential slot in McCain's 2008 presidential bid.[17]
At the Republican National Convention(2008), Whitman gave a speech about what presumptive presidential nominee McCain would do in his first one hundred days in office if elected President of the United States.
References
- ^ a b Miller, Matthew (2007-09-20). "#361 Margaret Whitman". The Forbes 400. Forbes.com. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ^ President Bush Announced His Intention to Appoint 32 Individuals to Serve as Members of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
- ^ Mark Bigault (2007-06-05). "Meg Whitman" (HTML). Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ Lal, Neeta (2008-01-04). "Corporate Queens". Khaleej Times Online. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Meg Whitman to Wed June 7 - Free Preview - The New York Times
- ^ "Hendricks H. Whitman, Executive, 70". New York Times. February 23, 1991. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b Meg Whitman Business Biography
- ^ Meg Whitman at Bizography.com
- ^ Brush, Silla (2008-01-23). "Whitman '77 makes $30 million donation". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Meg Whitman at newsmeat.com
- ^ Governor Mitt Romney Announces First Group of National Finance Co-Chairs
- ^ MTP transcript for Oct. 21, 2007 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com
- ^ Romney Reaps $20 Million to Top G.O.P. Rivals - New York Times
- ^ Election Center 2008: Candidates - Election & Politics News from CNN.com
- ^ John McCain 2008 - John McCain for President
- ^ Joe, Steve (2008-01-25). "EBay's retiring chief may run for California governor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Montanaro, Domenico. "All about McCain".