Meg Whitman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Margaret C. Whitman (born August 4, 1956) has been the President and CEO of the online marketplace eBay since March 1998, who has turned the eBay online auction site into a success of the World Wide Web's business. She joined eBay when the company had 30 employees and operated solely in the United States; eBay is now a global organization with over 9,000 employees. In addition to managing eBay, she currently serves on the Board of Directors of Procter & Gamble and DreamWorks SKG. According to Forbes Magazine, Whitman was worth an estimated $1.5 billion in 2005. She is one of only five women on Earth to have been repeatedly ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine.
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[edit] Background and Education
Whitman grew up in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA. After high school she attended Princeton University, where she earned a degree in economics in 1977. She completed her education with an MBA from Harvard Business School.
[edit] Career
Whitman began her working career at Procter & Gamble from 1979 to 1981, when she built her experience in brand management. She then spent eight years working for the consulting firm Bain and Company, eventually becoming a vice-president.
From 1989 to 1992, Whitman was at the Walt Disney Company, where she served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing for the Disney Consumer Products Division. She then served as President of the Stride Rite Corporation's Stride Rite Division.
From 1995 to 1997, Whitman was President and CEO of Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD), but left to become the General Manager of Hasbro Inc.'s Preschool Division.
In 2005, she was interviewed by Disney's board of directors to succeed Michael Eisner as CEO, but dropped out a week later, prompting the board to give the job to Robert Iger.
[edit] Philanthropy
Whitman donated a significant sum of money to her alma mater, Princeton University, said to have totaled more than $30 million. Her large contributions have allowed the construction of the university's sixth residential college which is to be named Whitman College and is scheduled to open in Fall 2007.
[edit] Political Donations
As reported at Newsmeat.com, 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.
[edit] External links
- Official introduction on eBay
- Listing of Whitman's donations to both Republican and Democratic candidates and PACs, 1994-2006
| Procter & Gamble Co. | |
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Corporate Directors: Norman Augustine | Bruce Byrnes | R. Kerry Clark | Scott D. Cook | Joseph Gorman | A.G. Lafley | Charles R. Lee | Lynn M. Martin | W. James McNerney, Jr. | Johnathan Rodgers | John F. Smith, Jr. | Ralph Snyderman | Robert Storey | Margaret Whitman | Ernesto Zedillo |
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Brands: Always | Ariel | Bounty | Braun | Charmin | CoverGirl | Crest | Downy | Dreft | Duracell | Fairy | Febreze | Folgers | Gillette | Head & Shoulders | Iams | Ivory | Max Factor | Olay | Old Spice | Oral-B | Pampers | Pantene | Pringles | Swiffer | Tampax | Tide | Torengos | Zest |
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Annual Revenue: $55.4 billion USD ( |
