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{{Infobox Person
| image = Mm_whitman_tech_405.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| birth_name = Margaret Cushing Whitman
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1956|8|4}}
| birth_place = [[Long Island]], New York, U.S.
| occupation = Former President and CEO, [[eBay]]
| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| children = 2
| spouse = Griffith Rutherford Harsh IV
| religion = Presbyterian
|alma_mater = [[Princeton University]], <br> [[Harvard Business School]]
}}

'''Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman''' (born August 4, 1956) is an American businesswoman. She was President and [[Chief Executive Officer]] of [[eBay]] from March 1998 to March 2008. She is a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]<ref>[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/meg-whitman-declares-for-california-governor/ Meg Whitman Declares for California Governor] Jesse McKinley. The New York Times, Monday, December 14, 2009.</ref> candidate for [[Governor of California|Governor]] of [[California]] in the [[California gubernatorial election, 2010|November 2010 election]]. Whitman was also the first self-made white female billionaire.

[[Harvard Business Review]] named Whitman the 8th best performing CEO of the past decade<ref>{{cite news | title = The 100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World | work = Harvard Business Review |date = January, 2010 |url = http://hbr.org/web/extras/100ceos/8-whitman | accessdate = 2010-01-07}}</ref> and the ''[[Financial Times]]'' named her one of the 50 faces that shaped the decade.<ref>{{cite news | title = Fifty Faces That Shaped The Decade | work = The Financial Times |date = December 16, 2009 |url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/32e550e8-efd4-11de-833d-00144feab49a,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F32e550e8-efd4-11de-833d-00144feab49a.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=&nclick_check=1 | accessdate = 2010-01-07}}</ref>

==Background and education==
Whitman was born on [[Long Island]], New York, the daughter of Hendricks Hallett Whitman and Margaret (Goodhue) Whitman.<ref>[http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60811F8385D17728DDDA90A94DC405B8084F1D3 Meg Whitman to Wed June 7 - Free Preview - The New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Hendricks H. Whitman, Executive, 70 | work = New York Times |date = February 23, 1991 |url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE0DE1F3FF930A15751C0A967958260&sec=&spon= | accessdate = 2008-08-20}}
</ref> She attended a public high school, [[Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School|Cold Spring Harbor High School]] in [[Cold Spring Harbor, New York]], graduating in 1974. She had wanted to be a doctor, so she studied physics and mathematics at [[Princeton University]]. However, after spending a summer selling advertisements for a magazine, she switched to studying economics<ref>page 55, ''The eBay Phenomenon'' by Elen Lewis publ 2008 by [[Marshall Cavendish]] books</ref>, earning a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] with honors in 1978. Whitman then obtained an [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]] from [[Harvard Business School]] in 1979.<ref name=bio />

Whitman is married to Griffith Harsh IV, a neurosurgeon at [[Stanford University Medical Center]].<ref name="campaign bio">{{cite news|url=http://www.megwhitman.com/aboutMeg.php|title=Meet Meg Whitman|publisher="Meg Whitman for Governor"}}</ref> They have two sons.<ref name="campaign bio" /> She has lived in [[Atherton, California]], since March 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/43174/ |title=Meg Whitman's House |accessdate=2009-04-24 |date=2008-01-03 |work=Virtual Globetrotting }}</ref>

==Career==
She began her career in 1979 as a brand manager<ref>page 36, ''The eBay Phenomenon'' by Elen Lewis publ 2008 by [[Marshall Cavendish]] books</ref> 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.

In 1989, Whitman became vice president of strategic planning at [[The Walt Disney Company]] and in 1991, joined [[Stride Rite Corporation]], before becoming president and CEO of [[Florists' Transworld Delivery]] in 1995.<ref>page 56, ''The eBay Phenomenon'' by Elen Lewis publ 2008 by [[Marshall Cavendish]] books</ref>

In January 1997, Whitman joined [[Hasbro]]'s Playskool 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 it had 30 employees<ref>{{cite news|author=Thomas, Owen|title=eBay founder factchecks John McCain|url=http://valleywag.com/5060675/ebay-founder-factchecks-john-mccain|date=October 8, 2009|work=Valleywag|publisher=Gawker Media|accessdate=2009-03-04}}</ref> and revenues of approximately $4 million. She grew the company to approximately 15,000 employees and $8 billion in annual revenue by 2008.<ref>Santa Maria Times. ''Meg Whitman right for job'', ‎Dec 9, 2009‎</ref>

Fortune Magazine repeatedly named her one of the top 5 most powerful women for her success at eBay.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Power 50|url=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0709/gallery.women_mostpowerful.fortune/3.html|work=Fortune Magazine}}</ref>

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. She was inducted into the U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2008. "I've said for some time that 10 years is roughly the right time to stay at the helm at a company like ours", adding that "it's time for new leadership, a new perspective and a new vision", she said in an interview with the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title:Whitman quits eBay CEO post as of March 31|author=Verne Kopytoff|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=January 24, 2008}}</ref>

Whitman also served on the board of directors of the eBay Foundation, Procter & Gamble and [[DreamWorks SKG]], until early 2009.<ref name=bio>[http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/S-Z/Whitman-Meg-1956.html Meg Whitman Business Biography]</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Lifsher, Marc|title=Ex-EBay chief Meg Whitman quits board seats|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-whitman6-2009jan06,0,5142789.story|date=January 6, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times|publisher=Tribune Company|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> She was appointed to the board of [[Goldman Sachs]] in October, 2001 and then resigned in December 2002, amidst controversy that she allegedly had received shares in several [[public offerings]] managed by [[Goldman Sachs]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Bain & Company|title=Meg Whitman joins Goldman Sachs' Board of Directors|url=http://www.bain.dk/bainweb/publications/publications_detail.asp?id=3989&menu_url=publications_results.asp.story|date=October 1, 2001|work=Bain & Company}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Kane, Margaret|title=Whitman resigns from Goldman Sachs board|url=http://news.cnet.com/Whitman-resigns-from-Goldman-Sachs-board/2110-1017_3-978561.html.story|date=December 20, 2002|work=cnet.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=McIntosh, Andrew|title=Whitman's IPO stock deals have critics raising ethics issues|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-heads-state/12727072-1.html.story|date=May 24, 2009|work=Sacramento Bee}}</ref> Whitman earned approximately $1.78 million resulting from a practice known as [[spinning (IPO)]] whereby executives who did business with [[Goldman Sachs]] could reap profits by getting early deals before the public on hot [[IPO]]s offered by the bank.<ref>{{cite news|author=West, Jackson|title=Dirty Dotcom Deals May Doom Whitman Campaign|url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Dirty-Dotcom-Deals-May-Doom-Whitman-Campaign-jw.html|date=July 15, 2009|work=nbcbayarea.com}}</ref>

==Political Involvement==
At the [[2008 Republican National Convention]], Whitman gave a speech about what [[John McCain]] would do in his first one hundred days in office if elected.

Whitman was a supporter of former Bain & Company CEO and [[Massachusetts]] Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign<ref>[http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/national_finance_cochairs Governor Mitt Romney Announces First Group of National Finance Co-Chairs<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21407008/page/2/ MTP transcript for Oct. 21, 2007 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> in 2008 and was on his "National Finance Team."<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/us/politics/03money.html?ex=1177905600&en=3820b87532ea5dc6&ei=5070 Romney Reaps $20 Million to Top G.O.P. Rivals - New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She was also listed as Finance co-chair of Romney's [[exploratory committee]].<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/mitt.romney.html Election Center 2008: Candidates - Election & Politics News from CNN.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> However, after Romney stepped out of the race, and endorsed McCain, Whitman joined McCain's presidential campaign as a national co-chair.<ref>[http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/481e9209-2ea4-4069-ada6-d66b4301f0f9.htm John McCain 2008 - John McCain for President<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

McCain mentioned Whitman as a possible [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]] during the second presidential [[United_States_presidential_election_debates,_2008#October_7:_Second_presidential_debate_.28Belmont_University_.E2.80.93_Nashville_townhall.29|debate]] in 2008.<ref>Reuters (2008). [http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4970PR20081008 McCain, Obama discuss possible Treasury secretary picks]. Retrieved October 8, 2008.</ref>

Whitman has made monetary donations to various candidates and PACs. While these have gone to both [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], the donations are weighted to Republicans.<ref>[http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/Meg_Whitman.php Meg Whitman at newsmeat.com]</ref> Though Whitman has contributed to a few Democrats, including Senator [[Barbara Boxer]]; donating $4,000 to her campaign and serving on the "Friends of Boxer" committee in 2004, she donated more than $225,000.00 during the same period to Republicans, eBay's PAC and to Americans for a Republican Majority, the PAC of former Rep. [[Tom DeLay]].<ref>[http://washingtonindependent.com/62382/meg-whitmans-donations-barbara-boxer-tom-delay Washingtonindependent.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=48814#ixzz0Wx4GvMLs ''San Francisco Chronicle'']</ref>

==2010 Campaign for California Governor==
{{main|California gubernatorial election, 2010}}
On September 22, 2009, Whitman announced she would run for governor of California in the 2010 election.<ref>{{cite news|author=Finnegan, Michael|title=Meg Whitman, EBay's former CEO, joins California governor's race|date=February 10, 2009|publisher=Los Angeles Times|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/10/local/me-whitman10|accessdate=2009=10-10}}</ref> Her candidacy has been endorsed by high-profile Republicans including [[Mitt Romney]], [[John McCain]], and the former [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Condoleezza Rice]].<ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/01/condoleezza-rice-backs-whitman/?fbid=hfG0ww2dCRC Secretary Rice endorsement]</ref> If elected, Whitman would be the first female governor of California.

Whitman is widely considered the GOP front-runner and is competitive in a likely race against [[Jerry Brown]].<ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34559.html</ref><ref>[http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=920], ''CPPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government'', Public Policy Institute of California. ‎Dec 17, 2009‎</ref><ref>http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=927</ref>

Whitman has committed to only three major areas in her campaign: job creation, reduced state government spending, and reform of the state's K-12 educational system. She has explained that she believes it is best to start only a few things and finish them, instead of starting a lot of things and finishing few of them.<ref name=McLaughlin-20091116>{{cite news|author=McLaughlin, Ken|title=Campbell takes Silicon Valley in new San Jose State poll|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/california-governors-race-2010/ci_13802741|publisher=San Jose Mercury News|date=November 16, 2009‎|accessdate=December 26, 2009}}</ref>

Whitman has pledged not to raise taxes and signed the [[Americans for Tax Reform]]'s "No New Taxes Pledge" on the day she announced her candidacy for governor. She also proposes lowering business taxes and making California a more business-friendly environment, stating that California is losing jobs not to other countries but to neighboring states with lower tax rates, such as Nevada, Arizona and Oregon.<ref>[http://townhall.com/columnists/HughHewitt/2009/09/24/meg_whitman_talks_tough_and_pledges_no_new_taxes_a_conversation_with_the_woman_who_would_be_governor], ''Meg Whitman Talks Tough And Pledges "No New Taxes": A Conversation With the Woman Who Would Be Governor'', Hugh Hewitt. ‎September 24, 2009‎</ref>

On water issues, Whitman has opposed a federal judge's ruling and supports turning on water for thousands of [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] farmers.<ref>[http://www.megwhitman.com/story/202/meg-whitman-let-the-water-flow.html], ''Meg Whitman: Let the water flow'', Fresno Bee. June 12, 2009‎</ref> She said that if elected, on her first day<ref>{{cite news|author=Gardner, Michael|title=Emissions initiative in Whitman's cross hairs|url=http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/05/emissions-initiative-whitmans-cross-hairs/|date=October 5, 2009|publisher=San Diego Union Tribune|accessdate=2009-10-05}}</ref> she would suspend AB 32, the [[Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006]], to study its potential economic implications.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/24/whitman-says-shed-suspend-8216green8217-initiative/|title=Whitman says she'd suspend 'green' initiative|date=September 24, 2009|publisher=San Diego Union Tribune|accessdate=2009-09-24}}</ref> At the state GOP Convention in March 2010, Whitman described California Republican Governor Schwarzenegger's climate change bill as a "job-killer."<ref>Marinucci, Carla & Garofoli, Joe{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/14/MNI91CFEOE.DTL&sfgabt=ttmabtctopstories|title=Lots of tough talk at state GOP convention|date=Sunday, March 14, 2010|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|accessdate=2010-03-15}}</ref>

''[[The Sacramento Bee]]'' reported that Whitman voted infrequently in elections, after reviewing her voting records in California.<ref>[http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/2205364.html Meg Whitman's voting record short, sparse] Andrew McIntosh. The Sacramento Bee, September 24, 2009.</ref><ref name="sac_bee_2">[http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/2238891.html Whitman registered to vote in San Francisco, Santa Clara County, records show] Andrew McIntosh. The Sacramento Bee, October 8, 2009.</ref> Records uncovered by conservative radio host [[Hugh Hewitt]] countered the claims of the ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'' and resulted in an interview by Hewitt with editor Amy Chance.<ref>{{cite news|author=Hewitt, Hugh|title=Fun With "Journalists": Sacramento Bee Edition|date=October 10, 2009|publisher=The Hugh Hewitt Show|url=http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/47e304a6-47c5-446f-b636-adac7ea09730|accessdate=2009=11-20}}</ref> However, Whitman has described her voting record as "atrocious", apologized for it,<ref name="sac_bee_2"/> and stated that she is happy to discuss the matter.<ref name=Cillizza200910>{{cite news|author=Cillizza, Chris|title=CA-Gov: Whitman Defends Handling of Vote Story|date=October 10, 2009|publisher=The Washington Post|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/governors/ca-gov-whitman-defends-handlin.html|accessdate=2009=10-10}}</ref>

Whitman supported California's [[California Proposition 8 (2008)|Proposition 8]] in 2008, which reversed the [[In re Marriage Cases]] of 2008 and amended the California constitution to state that "Only marriage between a man and woman is valid or recognized in California." She has 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.<ref name=Finnegan>{{cite news|author=Finnegan, Michael|title=GOP gubernatorial candidate Whitman outlines stands|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-whitman11-2009feb11,0,5416436.story|date=February 11, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times|publisher=Tribune Company|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> Whitman is a supporter of [[civil unions]].<ref name=Finnegan /> She voted in favor of [[California Proposition 4 (2008)|California Proposition 4]], an initiative that requires minors to notify a parent prior to requesting an abortion, except in certain cases.<ref>{{cite news|author=Marinucci, Carla|title=Meg Whitman makes case on how she's different|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/12/BACU15SUDJ.DTL|date=February 13, 2009|work=San Francisco Chronicle|publisher=Hearst|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref>

Whitman's campaign is largely self-funded. As of April 2010, she has put $59 million of her own money into the race. Figures for 2009 show that 20% of her contributions, about $2.2 million, came from out-of-state contributors. The biggest donations were from the financial services and legal industries, among others, which collectively gave Whitman more than $400,000, according to an Associated Press review of campaign reports.<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/03/financial/f110010S60.DTL</ref><ref>http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_14825596?source=rss</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.megwhitman.com Meg Whitman's Gubernatorial Campaign Website]
*[http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/06/women-billionaires-rich_07billionaires_cz_lk_0308women_slide_10.html?thisSpeed=30000 Forbes article]
*[http://fora.tv/2008/09/23/Meg_Whitman_on_Californias_Business_Tax_Burden Meg Whitman on California's Business Tax Burden at Fora.TV]
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1945363,00.html Time Magazine Profile: Meg's Run]

{{start box}}
{{s-bus}}
{{s-bef| rows = 2 | before = [[Jeffrey Skoll]] }}
{{s-ttl| title = [[Chief Executive Officer]] of [[eBay]] | years = 1998 &ndash; 2008 }}
{{s-aft| rows = 2 | after = [[John Donahoe]] }}
{{s-ttl| title = [[President]] of [[eBay]]
| years = 1998 &ndash; 2008 }}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitman, Meg}}
[[Category:American billionaires]]
[[Category:American chief executives]]
[[Category:American women in business]]
[[Category:California Republicans]]
[[Category:EBay employees]]
[[Category:Female billionaires]]
[[Category:Goldman Sachs people]]
[[Category:Harvard Business School alumni]]
[[Category:People from Long Island]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Procter & Gamble]]
[[Category:Women in California politics]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]

[[de:Meg Whitman]]
[[es:Meg Whitman]]
[[fr:Meg Whitman]]
[[mr:मेग व्हिटमन]]
[[ja:メグ・ホイットマン]]
[[simple:Margaret Whitman]]
[[zh:玛格丽特·惠特曼]]

Revision as of 01:13, 4 May 2010

Useless person.

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