Meg Whitman
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. |
Meg Whitman | |
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| File:Meg0016- crop.jpg | |
| Born | Margaret Cushing Whitman August 4, 1956 Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Princeton University, Harvard Business School |
| Occupation(s) | former President and CEO, eBay |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Griffith Rutherford Harsh IV |
| Children | 2 |
Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman (born August 4, 1956)[1] was President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay from March 1998 to March 2008, when she stepped down from her role. In 2006 Whitman endorsed Governor Mitt Romney for president and served in his campaign. After Romney withdrew, she endorsed Senator John McCain.
She is a candidate for Governor of California in the November 2010 election. She opposes same-sex marriage and the "green" initiative to stop global warming.
Background and education
Whitman was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of Hendricks Hallett Whitman and Margaret (Goodhue) Whitman.[2][3] Whitman attended Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. She earned a BA in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979.[4] Whitman has lived in Atherton, California since March 1998.[5]
Career
She began her career in 1979 at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving on to work as a consultant at Bain & Company's San Francisco office, where she worked her way through the ranks to achieve a senior Vice President position.
Following her work at Bain, Ms. Whitman held lower level executive positions at the Stride Rite Corporation and at the Walt Disney Company.
In January 1997, Ms Whitman joined Hasbro's Playschool Division as a General Manager, overseeing global management and marketing of two of the world's best-known children's brands, Playskool and Mr. Potato Head.
Whitman joined eBay in March 1998, when there were 30 employees.[6]
Whitman resigned as CEO of eBay in November 2007, but remained on the Board and as an Advisor to new CEO John Donahoe until late 2008.
Ms. Whitman was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2008.
Whitman also served on the boards of the eBay Foundation, Procter & Gamble, and DreamWorks SKG until early 2009.[4][7]
Political activities
Meg Whitman first registered as a "decline to state" voter on September 12, 2002, at the age of 46. According to the Sacramento Bee, Meg Whitman "regularly skipped elections in California and several other states where she lived and worked." In 2007, she registered as a Republican.[8]
Whitman has made monetary donations to various candidates and PACs. While these have gone to both Republicans and Democrats, the donations seem to be weighted to Republicans such as Orrin Hatch, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and George Allen. [9]
Whitman was a supporter of former Bain & Company CEO and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign[10][11] in 2008 and was on his "National Finance Team".[12] She was also listed as Finance co-chair of Romney's exploratory committee.[13] However, after Romney stepped out of the race, and endorsed McCain, Whitman joined John McCain's presidential campaign as a national co-chair.[14]
At the 2008 Republican National Convention, Whitman gave a speech about what McCain would do in his first one hundred days in office if elected.
McCain mentioned Whitman as a possible Secretary of the Treasury during the second presidential debate in 2008.[15]
On September 22, 2009, Whitman announced she would run for governor of California in the 2010 election.[16] Her candidacy has been endorsed by John McCain and Mitt Romney. She said if elected she would issue an executive order suspending the law that restricts emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming until its economic consequences are understood.[17]
Whitman supported California's Proposition 8 in 2008, which banned same-sex marriages, but she said that the same-sex marriages that took place before the ban should be recognized and that gay and lesbian couples should be able to adopt children.[18] Whitman is a supporter of civil unions.[18] Her views on gay marriage led to criticism by a group of women tech-industry leaders. [19]
Whitman voted for California Proposition 4, an initiative that requires minors to notify their parents if they receive an abortion.[20]
References
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/megwhitman?ref=nf#/megwhitman?v=info&viewas=0&ref=nf Whitman on facebook (official)
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Meg Whitman Business Biography
- ^ "Meg Whitman's House". Virtual Globetrotting. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- ^ Thomas, Owen (October 8, 2009). "eBay founder factchecks John McCain". Valleywag. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ Lifsher, Marc (January 6, 2009). "Ex-EBay chief Meg Whitman quits board seats". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- ^ [1]
- ^ 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
- ^ Reuters (2008). McCain, Obama discuss possible Treasury secretary picks. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/la-me-meg-whitman10-2009feb10,0,306770.story
- ^ "Whitman says she'd suspend 'green' initiative". San Diego Union Tribune. September 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
- ^ a b Finnegan, Michael (February 11, 2009). "GOP gubernatorial candidate Whitman outlines stands". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- ^ Garchik, Leah (July 16, 2009). "Meg Whitman's take on marriage". sfgate.com.
- ^ Marinucci, Carla (February 13, 2009). "Meg Whitman makes case on how she's different". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst. Retrieved 2009-02-22.