She Ran EBay, Now She Runs HP, Meg Whitman!
Every executive in charge of a big company has a story. Some of those stories are intriguing and complex, others are surprisingly mundane. One might suspect a consumer revolution would occur if most Americans knew just how many CEOs became CEO by simply being in the right place at the right time. Few CEOs, however, have had the complicated and fascinating careers of Meg Whitman.
Meg Whitman is the new Chief Executive Officer and President of Hewlett-Packard. Whitman’s rise to CEO is not a happenstance and her ascension comes after a particularly rough business year for HP. Whitman’s new role as CEO of HP is generally seen as a desperate move to put Hewlett-Packard on a more successful track after a particularly tumultuous series of failing CEOs. Whitman’s predecessor served as CEO for only eleven months before the Board of Directors showed him the door!
Since the mid-1980s, Meg Whitman has been a powerful executive. Her first executive position was as a senior vice president at Bain & Company. From there, she moved to various executive positions at the Walt Disney Company, FTD, and Hasbro. Her big leadership opportunity came when she assumed control of eBay as its CEO.
As CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman made eBay from a minor Internet sales site into an international powerhouse. The company grew from thirty employees to a significant international company. More importantly, Whitman helped eBay achieve its success by completely reorganizing the corporate structure as well as the site’s functional organization. Under her guidance, eBay became a publicly traded company, adopted the iconic four-colored logo and purchased Skype! Whitman ran eBay for a decade before moving on, leaving the company as one of the most powerful women in business and one of the most influential CEOs of the last decade.
Immediately before taking on the job of CEO of HP, Meg Whitman ran for governor of California. As a Republican candidate, Meg Whitman hoped to continue Arnold Schwarzenegger’s style of leadership over the traditionally Democratic state. While she lost in the general election, her campaign made a good showing after several scandals that would have taken down a lesser person. Following her failed gubernatorial run, Whitman joined HP’s Board of Directors where she served until the Board promoted her to CEO.
If Meg Whitman’s past successes are any indication, she represents the best chance Hewlett-Packard has to restructure and survive as a powerful business in the tech sector!
About RESCUECOM:
RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.
For More Information, Contact:
David Milman, CEO
315-882-1100
david@rescuecom.com
Filed under: business, Computer Support, david milman, hp, recession, rescuecom