Meg Whitman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Margaret C. Whitman | |
 Meg Whitman in 2007.
|
|
| Born | August 4, 1956 Long Island, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Occupation | President and CEO, eBay |
| Net worth | ▲ US$1.4 billion (2007)[1] |
| Spouse | Griffith R. Harsh IV |
| Children | 2 |
Margaret C. "Meg" Whitman (born August 4, 1956)[2] 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. With her expertise in brand building at top consumer companies, she helped this Internet pioneer evolve into an unmatched global ecommerce engine that continues to influence and reshape the way people trade, pay and communicate around the world. [3] 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.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Background and education
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.[4]
[edit] 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. [4]
[edit] 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.[5][6]
[edit] Political donations
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. [7]
Whitman was a supporter of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign [8][9] in 2008 and was on his "National Finance Team".[10] She was also listed as Finance co-chair of Romney's campaign exploratory committee. [11]
She has political ambitions of her own and is considering a run for Governor of California in the 2010 election.[12] Whitman was also named as a dark horse candidate for the Vice Presidential slot in John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Miller, Matthew (2007-09-20). #361 Margaret Whitman. The Forbes 400. Forbes.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
- ^ Mark Bigault (2007-06-05). Meg Whitman (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
- ^ a b Lal, Neeta. "Corporate Queens", Khaleej Times Online, 2008-01-04. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ a b Meg Whitman Business Biography
- ^ Meg Whitman at Bizography.com
- ^ Brush, Silla. "Whitman '77 makes $30 million donation", The Daily Princetonian, 2008-01-23. Retrieved on 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
- ^ Joe, Steve. "EBay's retiring chief may run for California governor", Los Angeles Times, 2008-01-25. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Montanaro, Domenico. "All about McCain".
