Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman (born August 4, 1956) is an American businesswoman and political figure.Ms. Whitman was born and raised in Long Island, New York. Meg Whitman was president and CEO of famous online marketplace, eBay, has been with this successful company since March of 1998. She aided the company’s growth from a national markeplace of 30 employees to a now global online resource with over 9,000 employees. Not only does she serve as president and CEO of this well-known organization but she is also on the Board of Directors for Proctor & Gamble as well as Dreamworks.She is a Republican candidate for Governor of California in the November 2010 election. Whitman was also the first self-made white female billionaire.
Education and Career
She then received a degree in economics from the Ivy League university, Princeton. After this undergraduate completion she went on to Harvard Business School where she received her MBA.
Her first career move was with Procter & Gamble where she was trained and gained experience in brand management, throughout her two year stent with the company. In 1981 she moved on to work for Bain and Company, a consulting firm, where she worked her way up to vice-president. After nine year with Bain and Company, she soon found herself working for Walt Disney Company as the Senior Vice President of Marketing. Following this prestigious position with Walt Disney she became the President of Stride Rite kids shoes. Before she began her career with eBay, from 1995 to 1997, she served as President and CEO of Florists Transworld Delivery.
Not only has Meg Whitman gained tremendous knowledege and business insight but she is also giving back to the University that so faithfully gave to her. She has made significant donations of more than $30 million to Princeton University. This contribution has single handedly allowed the construction of a sixth residential college in the university which will be complete in 2007.
Family
Whitman is married to Griffith Harsh IV, a neurosurgeon at Stanford University Medical Center. They have two sons. She has lived in Atherton, California, since March 1998.
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 in 2008 and was on his "National Finance Team." She was also listed as Finance co-chair of Romney's exploratory committee. However, after Romney stepped out of the race, and endorsed McCain, Whitman joined McCain's presidential campaign as a national co-chair.
McCain mentioned Whitman as a possible Secretary of the Treasury during the second presidential debate in 2008.
Whitman has made monetary donations to various candidates and PACs. While these have gone to both Republicans and Democrats, the donations are weighted to Republicans. 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.
Political Campaign
On September 22, 2009, Whitman announced she would run for governor of California in the 2010 election. Her candidacy has been endorsed by high-profile Republicans including Mitt Romney, John McCain, and the former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. 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
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