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Governor Whitman?

AXEL SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

Governor Whitman?

Meg Whitman
Former CEO, eBay

Whitman joined eBay (EBAY) in the late 1990s when "grown-up" CEOs were taking over hot pre-initial public offering dot-coms. By the time she announced her departure in early 2008, eBay was generating $6 billion in annual sales, from $86 million in 1998, and it had become an undisputed e-commerce giant. But as demand for online auctions dropped, Whitman struggled to transform the site into a more versatile global e-commerce platform (BusinessWeek.com, 1/22/08). Her acquisition of PayPal was a standout, but eBay was forced to write down much of the value of Internet-calling business Skype. Speculation is rampant that Whitman is mulling a run for California governor.