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Meg Whitman

“eBay’s Auctioneer-in-Chief”Presentation by Matt Leiderman

“You are constantly taking in new information, constantly changing the

prism though which you view your business. CEOs today have to be

receivers rather than transmitters. It’s a discovery process, not a dictatorial

process.”

- Background Information

- Career Highlights

- Leadership skills/examples

- Life after eBay

- Education

Objectives:

Discuss the following about Meg Whitman:

a little background info…Childhood/Education

1973-1977Princeton University

BA Economics Started Pre-med

1977-1979Harvard

University

MBA Met husband

(neurosurgeon)

Born 1956Cold Harbor, NY

Posh, Long Island community

a little background info…Career Travels

1979-1980

Proctor and Gamble

Brand Assistant Manager

1997

Hasbro

General Manager (Playskool)

1989-1992

Disney

Sr. VP of Marketing

1995-1997

FTD Florists

President and CEO

1992-1995

Stride-Rite Shoes

Division President (Keds)

1981-1989

Bain & Company

Business Consultant

Married/Started Family

1997-2008

eBay

President and CEO

“I get it. She’s successful. But what makes her a leader?”

“Truly a visionary, but more importantly she is an exceptional manager. Vision is one thing, there is a lot of that in the Silicon Valley. Execution is another. She is remarkable at actually getting things done.”

Tim Bajarin Pres. Creative Strategies

Most other Dot-Comsacted too fast and some fizzled out quickly!

eBay acted slowly, watched for trends and made smart choices

Slow and steady wins the race!

Smart choices? Like what?

Hiring a seasoned staff of executives and managers and

NOT continuing the “Den of Geeks” formerly assembled

Taking time to understand where they were at before deciding where they were going - what needs fixing? - how and where can they expand? - “If it moves, measure it” (metrics)

- recognized the company was nothing without its users- build on trust; feedback system- meg@ebay.com - “Voice of the Customer” Program- 200 million customers control 15,000 employees

Listening to employees and being a very hands-on CEO- ask questions before demanding answers- be available to all- earn trust though transparency

Subtly steer and influence rather than grip and control

Smart use of Board:- think tank- come up with key questions- Sr. staff incl.

the view from the top…Abstract modern art

Lakefront office

Custom made, Swedish office furniture

CEO Peter Brabeck

Pictures of family and friends; awards

steel and plastic cubicle; standard issue to all eBay employees including CEO!

And of course, Mr. Potatohead and friends

So… where’s the view?!

The Day eBay died (briefly) Thursday June 10, 1999 7pm

What happened?- Growing use caused the site to crash for 22 hours and remain unstable for weeks after; stock plunged

- Angry sellers and buyers demanded change in eBay

Fixed?

- Whitman became a tech-savvy CEO by attending all tech dept. meetings and working late completing hands-on maintenance of computers and servers; used influence to get her tech people in touch w/ the designers of equipment and software

- Investment of $200 million in upgrades

- Hired VP and CIO of Gateway, Maynard Webb to head tech dept.

- By the year 2000 crash time averaged a few seconds a month

- Entered the trenches; Thursday to Monday shift; cot village

Life After the ‘Bay

- In March 2008 Whitman stepped down as CEO of eBay to pursue other personal and professional challenges. She remains on the board.

- New CEO John Donahoe (head of eBay marketplace) - recuited by Whitman in 2005 as possible replacement

“Listen to her employees, associates, and competitors, and it quickly becomes blatantly obvious. Education, experience, worth ethic, focus, integrity, unlimited passion, creativity, keen judgment, listening skills, the ability to earn respect, a pioneer mindset, a respect and belief in customer feedback and the expertise to create, encourage and support community. The list goes on, but I’m sure you see why she continues to excel in everything she undertakes.”

Harry K. Jones

- "Meg Whitman was a phenomenal success running eBay for a decade. She has overseen an 88-times increase in revenue and a more than 1300 percent return in stock since the IPO.” Dave Sherill - Stock Analyst

Taking her Leadership to the people…

- currently undertaking a bid for the 2010 Governor race in California (Republican)- Supports abortion rights, same-sex civil unions, and adoption rights for same-sex couples (but not marriage), education reform, fiscal responsibility, and environmental protection

- 2006 endorsed Gov. Mitt Romney then Sen. John McCain; worked on both campaigns- Name dropped as possible Treasury Secretary if McCain was elected

Awards / Recognition / Perks• 2002 Business Week Top 25 Managers• Fortune - 50 Most Powerful Women in

Business• Vanity Fair – 50 Most Powerful Leaders of the

Information Age• Net worth of approx. $1.3 Billion attained

through the growth/sale of eBay stock• Gave $30 million to Princeton University to

build the Whitman College

References"Company Overview," eBay web site, April 23, 2009,

http://pages.ebay.com/community/aboutebay/overview/management.html.

Fox, Loren, "Meg Whitman," Salon.com, November 27, 2001, http://dir.salon.com/people/bc/2001/11/27/whitman/index.html (April 23, 2009).

Greene, Meg, “Meg Whitman 1956-,” referenceforbusiness.com, 2005, http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/S-Z/Whitman-Meg-1956.html.

Meg Whitman for Governor. April 21, 2009. http://www.megwhitman.com.

US News and World Report. Meyers, William. 10/31/2005. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31whitman.htm.