Margaret (Meg) Whitman

A brief history

Margaret Whitman was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of Hendricks Hallett Whitman and Margaret (Goodhue) Whitman. She attended Cold Spring Harbor High School then went on to earn a Bachelor of Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979.

She began her career in 1979 at Procter & Gamble, before moving on to work as a consultant at Bain & Company's San Francisco office. Also held executive positions at Stride Rite Corporation and at the Walt Disney Company.

In January of 1997, Meg Whitman joined Hasbro's Playschool Division as a General Manager. Her role included  overseeing global management and marketing of two of the world's best-known children's brands, Playskool and Mr Potato Head.

Whitman joined eBay in March 1998, when there were only 30 employees!  She  landed the  job as eBay's chief auctioneer . She steered eBay  through the Internet boom, to become their CEO. Whitman resigned as CEO of eBay in November 2007, but remained on the Board and as an Advisor to new CEO John Donahoe until late 2008.

Whitman also served on the boards of the eBay Foundation, Procter & Gamble, and DreamWorks SKG until early 2009. Margaret (Meg) Whitman is a shining example of a self made woman, who used her education to progress on merit to the highest business level. She was ranked 5th most powerful women in the world by Forbes.com.

What can we learn from Meg Whitman?

She is currently running for the position as Mayor of California in 2010. About her it is said  "Women can multitask and women really have a way of being able to speak up and to network and to make a difference. They say if you want anything done, ask a women who's really busy - she's the one who can get the job done."

At a time when California has been particularly hard hit by the current financial crisis, this woman has stepped up to the challenge of leading this state.

From Meg Whitman we can learn: that using our natural talents, having a desire for change and acknowledging our personal wellbeing is interwoven with society as a whole, will make a difference.

We can also learn that a positive attitude to our talents and a willingness to introduce other people with complimentary skills is important to our overall success.

The fresh women centric approach of Pink Investments will encourage your positive attitude, enhance your own talents and  provide you with the complimentary skills that you need to succeed in the investment world.