Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman Announces Candidacy For California Governor
Amit Chowdhry | Wednesday September 23, 2009 | 9,355 views| 8 Comments
Back in February Meg Whitman formed an exploratory committee to become a candidate as the Governor of California. Whitman has personal wealth of $1.1 billion, made mostly through her tenure as the eBay CEO. She worked as the eBay CEO from March 1998 to November 2007. During the last presidential election, she personally endorsed John McCain. She served as the national co-chair for the McCain campaign.
Two of the biggest mistakes Whitman made while working at eBay was the acquisition of Skype and failing to compete in China. eBay is trying to sell off Skype, but is being sued by the founders of the company at the same time of patent issues. Below is an excerpt of her speech on her campaign website:
eBay was the culmination of my business career. It’s the place where I tested my years of experience and honed my leadership skills. But it was also much more.
At eBay, I helped millions of people create small businesses in the marketplace. I became intimately familiar with the challenges small businesses face in this country.I came to understand that job creation is dependent on a fragile mix of circumstances – circumstances all too often disrupted by the intrusive hand of government.
And I came to love the inspired individual – a person set free to pursue his or her dreams by an open marketplace and a free society.Government does not create wealth in this country – inspired individuals create wealth. Helping those people succeed on eBay was the privilege of a lifetime. My interest in public service blossomed from my years at eBay. It’s an interest that was fueled by my parents, both of whom served their country in the Pacific during World War II. And it’s an interest that was inspired by my long friendships with Mitt Romney and John McCain.
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