United States President Joe Biden has nominated former Hewlett Packard (HP) boss and president Margaret Cushing Whitman as America’s ambassador to Kenya.
Whitman, a business executive and former candidate for Governor of California, if accepted by the congress, she will replace Kyle McCarter who left in January 2021.
In announcing Biden’s selection of Whitman, the White House noted her extensive business background.
Before she ran Hewlett-Packard, Whitman was the CEO of e-commerce giant eBay.
Whitman eventually became the CEO of Quibi, a short-lived, short-form video platform that was founded by Hollywood executive Jeffrey Katzenberg.
She is a Member of the Board of Procter and Gamble and General Motors, and National Board Chair at Teach for America.
“She has held senior leadership positions at Hasbro, StrideRite Corporation and the Walt Disney Corporation, and she is a former partner at Bain and Co,” her bio states.
Whitman studied for a BA at Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard University.
“Among numerous honors, Meg has been inducted into the Bay Area Business Hall of Fame and the US Business Hall of Fame,” her bio says.
Whitman spent decades in high-level corporate roles, but she has also been politically active for years.
She ran in 2010 as a Republican for governor in California but lost to Democrat Jerry Brown.
She also supported now-Sen. Mitt Romney’s runs for president in 2008 – before she eventually became Sen. John McCain’s national campaign co-chair – and in 2012.
She backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race against Donald Trump.
McCarter resigned earlier in February after Biden took over power.