The Excelling Executive: Meg Whitman

Some individuals start excelling from an early part of their life and just keep going making significant contributions to the various companies they become associated with.  Meg Whitman is one such individual.

Born on August 4, 1956, Margaret Whitman’s life has always been marked by excelling in what she did. Whitman finished her high school in 3 years.  In college at Princeton, she earned a B.A. in Economics with honors. She also obtained her MBA at the prestigious Harvard Business School.

From academics to the real world Whitman didn’t skip a beat. She first worked at Procter & Gamble, and then became a consultant with Bain & Company stationed at their San Francisco office.  She rose through various positions at Bain eventually becoming a senior Vice President.

Whitman was a vice president for strategic planning at The Walt Disney Company.  She was also the president and CEO for Florist Transworld Delivery in 1995. Aside from other high management positions her defining moment arrived when she became the CEO of eBay.

It can be said that the eBay became what it is today because of Whitman’s leadership. When she joined in 1998 the company had 30 employees and around $ 4 million in annual revenue.  By 2008 when she left it had 15,000 employees and $8 billion in annual revenue.  Whitman has received various awards and accolades with her achievement at eBay. It also made here a billionaire.

After resigning from eBay she made a run for governor of California in 2009. She is said to have spent over $100 million of her own money for the elections. This is the largest anyone to date has personally spent for an election.  Unlike in her private career she was not successful in her foray into public service as an elected official, she lost in the elections.

Whitman serves or has served as board member in various organizations both for profit and non-profit. She along with her husband also have their own charitable foundation.

Her executive business skills have been sought for once again. No so well performing Hewlett-Packard has made her the company CEO starting September 2011. She also served as a member of the board from January 2011.

There are high hopes that this excelling executive will help turn the company around.