Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman, the former EBay Inc. chief executive who lost the California governor's race in November, may soon take a new job at a marquee Silicon Valley investment firm. Whitman is joining Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a strategic advisor, according to Reuters. The venture capital firm is known for its investments in the tech, biotechnology and green energy industries, with interests in Google Inc., Twitter Inc., Flipboard Inc., Zynga Inc., Bloom Energy and dozens of other companies.

As Democrats launch their general election assault on Mitt Romney, their approach has sounded familiar to those who followed the meteoric rise and fall of Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman, corporate chieftains who lost their Republican bids for senator and governor in California two years ago. Much as Fiorina and Whitman emphasized their business experience, Romney's presidential campaign has presented him to voters as the man to tackle the nation's...

Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of EBay Inc., has resigned from the board of directors of the online auction company and two other corporations, fueling speculation that she is preparing for a 2010 run for California governor. The resignations, which were effective Wednesday, from EBay, Procter & Gamble Co. and DreamWorks SKG were made for personal reasons, Whitman spokesman Henry Gomez said Monday. Gomez declined to comment "on anything having to do with the governor's race."

Fresh off an unsuccessful and costly run for California governor, Meg Whitman last fall took the helm ofHewlett-Packard Co. as its fourth chief executive in little over a year. The storied technology giant was in desperate need of a turnaround after a series of missteps and internal dysfunction. For Whitman, who failed to catch on with voters after spending $144 million of her own money, it was a chance to return to familiar territory in Silicon Valley, where she had first made a splash with auction site EBay Inc. But six months into her tenure at HP, analysts say they've yet to see real improvement at one of the world's largest computer makers.

Meg Whitman Party: Republican Occupation: Former chief executive, EBay online auction business Age: 53, born Long Island, New York City of residence: Atherton (Bay Area) Personal: husband Griffith Harsh, two sons Education: Bachelor's degree in economics, Princeton University; MBA, Harvard Business School Career highlights: Executive positions at several companies, including senior vice president at Walt Disney Co., 1989-1992; president, Stride Rite Division, Stride Rite Corp.

Age: 54 Born: Aug. 4, 1956 Birthplace: Long Island, N.Y. City of residence: Atherton, Calif. Personal: Married to Dr. Griffith Harsh; has two sons EDUCATION Bachelor's degree in economics from Princeton University MBA from Harvard Business School POLITICS Party: Republican Platform: Create at least 2 million private-sector jobs by 2015, in part by cutting fees, taxes...

Larger than life Re "10 times bigger than life," Column One, Sept. 10 As a professional living in Los Angeles, I read your article with deep emotion. What a masterful piece of journalism and a tribute to a fine example of being a man who loves his children as much as I do. I am forwarding this to all my clients today as a kind of "stop and smell the roses" piece. Steven Tyre Temple City This is an incredible, uplifting article on a man's successes, caring and thoughtfulness about his family and friends.

Meg Whitman is taking a $1 annual salary for her position as the new chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co. But don't think she's working for peanuts. As part of her compensation package, Whitman was also awarded options to buy nearly 2 million shares of HP stock at $23.59, close to Friday's opening price, which eventually could bring her a windfall of tens of millions of dollars if HP's stock price rises. But as with many executive-level packages, the options won't vest immediately: Whitman won't be able to cash in at least 900,000 of them until a year from now. The vesting of the options is also tied to the performance of the stock: If HP's stock doesn't achieve certain levels of growth during her tenure, in other words, Whitman can't use them.

Although a 12.3% unemployment rate and $20-billion budget deficit ensure the economy will dominate California's race for governor, Republican front-runner Meg Whitman has guaranteed that the environment will also be a high-profile issue in the campaign. Whitman, the former CEO of EBay, declared in September that her first act as governor would be to suspend the state's pioneering climate change law, AB 32. It was a high-risk political move for Whitman, putting her campaign at odds with the views of a large majority of California voters while, more broadly, reigniting a statewide debate about the impact of strong environmental regulation on economic growth.

Hewlett-Packard Co. investors greeted the company's new chief executive with the Wall Street equivalent of a stocking full of coal. On Meg Whitman's first full day as CEO, the company's stock hit a six-year low. The drop, which sent the stock to its lowest price since May 2005, reflected investors' continued doubts about Whitman's fitness to run the global computing giant. The stock later rebounded somewhat to close down 2.1%, or 48 cents, at $22.32. In a conference call Thursday with Whitman and HP Chairman Raymond J. Lane, investors repeatedly asked whether HP's board had hired Whitman too hastily.

In its first earnings report with Meg Whitman as chief executive, Hewlett-Packard Co. reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit and revenue that beat expectations, but cautioned that it expected a challenging 2012. The tech giant Monday reported revenue of $32.1 billion for the three months ended Oct. 31, down 3.5% from $33.3 billion last year. Profit totaled $239 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with $2.54 billion, or $1.10, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges and other items, Hewlett-Packard would have earned $1.17 a share, beating the Wall Street estimate of $1.13.

Hewlett-Packard Co. will keep making personal computers after all. The world's largest computer maker said Thursday that it would not spin off its Personal Systems Group, which makes PCs, into a separate company, an idea it first floated in August. HP's new chief executive, Meg Whitman, said the decision came after the Silicon Valley giant "objectively evaluated the strategic, financial and operational impact" of divesting the business. "After reviewing the results of the analysis, the decision was actually very straightforward," Whitman said in a conference call with analysts Thursday.

Meg Whitman is taking a $1 annual salary for her position as the new chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co. But don't think she's working for peanuts. As part of her compensation package, Whitman was also awarded options to buy nearly 2 million shares of HP stock at $23.59, close to Friday's opening price, which eventually could bring her a windfall of tens of millions of dollars if HP's stock price rises. But as with many executive-level packages, the options won't vest immediately: Whitman won't be able to cash in at least 900,000 of them until a year from now. The vesting of the options is also tied to the performance of the stock: If HP's stock doesn't achieve certain levels of growth during her tenure, in other words, Whitman can't use them.

Hewlett-Packard Co. investors greeted the company's new chief executive with the Wall Street equivalent of a stocking full of coal. On Meg Whitman's first full day as CEO, the company's stock hit a six-year low. The drop, which sent the stock to its lowest price since May 2005, reflected investors' continued doubts about Whitman's fitness to run the global computing giant. The stock later rebounded somewhat to close down 2.1%, or 48 cents, at $22.32. In a conference call Thursday with Whitman and HP Chairman Raymond J. Lane, investors repeatedly asked whether HP's board had hired Whitman too hastily.

Hewlett-Packard Co. — the computer maker rocked by financial missteps, corporate espionage and allegations of sexual harassment in the executive suite — has placed its fate in the hands of an unlikely savior. Meg Whitman. The California GOP gubernatorial candidate and one-woman powerhouse who transformed EBay Inc. into a Web giant has been tapped to lead the Silicon Valley titan back to health and hopefully put an end to a decade of corporate dysfunction. It's going to be a herculean task others have repeatedly failed to achieve.

During the 2010 California gubernatorial campaign, former EBay chief and GOP nominee Meg Whitman frequently touted Rick Perry's leadership on the campaign trail, recounting how the Texas governor frequently took “hunting trips” for California business, urging them to relocate to the Lone Star State. During the San Francisco Giants' World Series battle with the Texas Rangers, Whitman and Perry even wagered on the series, betting a surfboard and cowboy boots, respectively -- an unusual move for a politician who doesn't hold elected office.

The radio ads have aired daily across the state since she declared her bid for governor in September. "I'm Meg Whitman," one begins, "and I want to talk to you about California. . . ." The costly airtime -- with the primary election still seven months away -- is just one way the former eBay chief is spending the $19 million of her personal fortune that she has plowed into the race. The first-time candidate, a Republican, has also paid for an army of advisors, pricey plane rides and a big technology tab. She spent $6 million in the first half of the year.

Give Meg Whitman some credit. She's listening and reading up -- trying to learn about being governor of California. True, she occasionally shows her political naivete. A good example was when the former EBay chief last week suggested that as governor she'd organize the Legislature into "teams." A "jobs team," a "government efficiency team." As any high schooler knows -- or should -- a governor doesn't organize anything in the Legislature. It's a separate, equal branch of government.

Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman said Tuesday that her party must change its approach on immigration if it wants to be successful in California. "My view is that the immigration discussion, the rhetoric the Republican Party uses, is not helpful; it's not helpful in a state with the Latino population we have," Whitman said during a brief interview following a speech at a George W. Bush Institute conference on the economy. "We as a party are going to have to make some changes, how we think about immigration, and how we talk about immigration.

Meg Whitman, the former EBay Inc. chief executive who lost the California governor's race in November, may soon take a new job at a marquee Silicon Valley investment firm. Whitman is joining Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a strategic advisor, according to Reuters. The venture capital firm is known for its investments in the tech, biotechnology and green energy industries, with interests in Google Inc., Twitter Inc., Flipboard Inc., Zynga Inc., Bloom Energy and dozens of other companies.