Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman
Name	Meg Whitman
Birth name	Margaret Cushing Whitman
Birth date	4 August 1956
Birth place	Cold Spring Harbor, New York, U.S.
Education	Princeton University (BA), Harvard Business School (MBA)
Occupation	Business executive, political candidate
Spouse	Griffith R. Harsh IV, 1980

Meg Whitman is an American business executive and former political candidate, best known for her transformative leadership as the CEO of eBay and later as the head of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Her career spans major roles at prominent companies like Hasbro and The Walt Disney Company, and she was the Republican nominee for Governor of California in the 2010 election. Whitman has also served on the boards of numerous global corporations and philanthropic organizations.

Early life and education

Margaret Cushing Whitman was born in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, and grew up on Long Island. She attended Cold Spring Harbor High School before enrolling at Princeton University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Whitman subsequently pursued a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, graduating in 1979. Her early professional steps included roles at Procter & Gamble and Bain & Company, where she worked under future Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Career at Hasbro and FTD

In the 1990s, Whitman joined the toy and game company Hasbro, where she served as general manager of the Playskool division. Her tenure involved managing major brands like Mr. Potato Head and overseeing significant product development. She later became president and CEO of FTD, the floral wire service association, where she led the organization's transition into a for-profit corporation. During this period, she also held a senior marketing position at The Walt Disney Company, working on the launch of the Disney Store retail chain.

eBay leadership and growth

Whitman was appointed president and CEO of eBay in 1998, a role she held for a decade. She guided the then-small online auction house through its initial public offering on the NASDAQ and oversaw its expansion into a global e-commerce powerhouse. Key acquisitions under her leadership included PayPal, Skype, and StubHub, dramatically diversifying the company's portfolio. During her tenure, eBay's annual revenue grew from $5.7 million to nearly $8 billion, and its user base expanded to hundreds of millions worldwide.

Political involvement and campaigns

After leaving eBay, Whitman turned to politics, spending over $140 million of her own wealth in the 2010 California gubernatorial election. She won the Republican primary election but lost the general election to Democrat Jerry Brown. She later served as a national co-chair for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. In 2014, she was appointed to the board of the Republican State Leadership Committee and has been a significant donor to various GOP candidates and causes, though she endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Quibi

In 2011, Whitman joined the technology giant Hewlett-Packard as president and CEO, succeeding Léo Apotheker. She presided over the historic split of the company in 2015, becoming CEO of the new enterprise-focused entity, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). She stepped down as CEO in 2018, remaining on the board of directors until 2022. Whitman also served as the short-lived CEO of the mobile video platform Quibi, launched by Jeffrey Katzenberg, which shut down in 2020 after only six months of operation.

Philanthropy and board memberships

Whitman has been active in philanthropy, notably making a $30 million gift to Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Science. She serves on the board of the Whitman Institute and has supported educational and conservation causes. Her corporate board service has included positions at Procter & Gamble, Zipcar, and Dropbox. She is also a member of the board of directors for the World Economic Forum and previously served on the board of HP Inc..

Category:American business executives Category:American women chief executives Category:Princeton University alumni Category:Harvard Business School alumni