Meg Whitman
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 4, 1956 |
| GENDER | Female |
| OCCUPATION | Business Executive and Politician |
Biography
Meg Whitman is the United States (US) Ambassador to Kenya. She is an American business executive and politician. She served as the president and Chief Executive Officer of eBay (1998-2008), an online auction company, and later of the technology company Hewlett Packard (2011-2015).
Early Life and Education
Whitman was born on August 4, 1956, in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. The father was a businessman and the mother stayed at home. Meg was the youngest among a family of three children.
Whitman’s early life was shaped by her mother’s strong encouragement to embrace a “bias for action.” Despite facing the challenge of a birth defect called dysplasia, which affected her left hip, she demonstrated resilience. The condition required her to wear a rigid metal brace with leather straps until she was three years old, but she overcame this obstacle with determination.
She studied at Cold Spring High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University, where she graduated in 1977 and later obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979.
Meg Whitman Career Life
She started her career at Procter & Gamble as a brand manager, after which she joined Bain & Company as a consultant and rose through the ranks to become senior vice president.
Additionally, she has held key positions at several prominent companies, including The Walt Disney Company in 1988, where she served as Senior Vice President of Marketing, and at Hasbro, where she was responsible for the global management and marketing of iconic brands such as Playskool and Mr. Potato Head.
Moreover, Whitman joined eBay in 1998 where she fledged the online auction platform, as CEO and President. In 2007 she resigned from eBay although she remained part of the board as AN advisor to the then-incoming CEO.
She later entered politics, running as the Republican candidate for Governor of California in 2010, though Jerry Brown ultimately defeated her. The following year she returned to business as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. In 2017 she left Hewlett-Packard and joined Quibi a short-form media content app designed for smartphones however it was closed after six months.
Meg Enters into Diplomacy
President Joe Biden nominated Meg in December 2021 as the US Ambassador to Kenya where she took office in August the same year.
She ran for a corporate leader for Silicon Valley which played a significant role in paving the way for her role as Kenya’s ambassador.
Whitman Net Worth
Meg Whitman’s net worth is estimated at around $3.1 billion (Sh488 billion). She has harnessed this wealth through her business career having held prominent positions in iconic companies such as eBay and Hewlett-Packard.
At the same time, her involvement in various other corporations has contributed immensely to her substantial net worth.
Meg Family and Marriage
She is married to Griffith R. Harsh, a neurosurgeon with whom they have given birth to two sons.
Furthermore, is well known for her philanthropic work. She serves as the National Board Chair of Teach for America. In addition, she is a member of the Nature Conservancy’s Africa Conservation Advisory Council.
Whitman is passionate about sports, with a particular love for tennis and swimming.
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