Meg Whitman struck out in trying to become the governor of California in 2010, but it might have been a much easier job than the one she’s now on the hook for: turning around the struggling technology firm Hewlett-Packard. H-P shares are down a third this year, which makes the firm one of the lowest performers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Whitman’s task a gargantuan one. At a conference in June she said it might take „four or five years” to fix the company. Her incentive stock options could be worth millions–but only if the stock price increases 40% in the next 24 months under her watch. Whitman also serves on the boards of P&G and ZipCar. She turned down Warren Buffett’s invitation in 2010 to join the Giving Pledge, in which billionaires agree to donate half their fortune to charity. Whitman was the CEO of eBay for 10 years, until early 2008, during which time the online auction company grew from $4 million in revenue to $7.7 billion. Her net worth has grown by $400 million since September 2011 thanks to a 50% surge in the value of her eBay shares.
