Meg Whitman, Former eBay CEO, Joins Big-Swinging Private Equ

The woman who grew eBay from a $5 million company into a $8 billion company. The woman who spent more money on a self-funded (unsuccessful) governor campaign than anyone in American history. The woman responsible for making Mr. Potato Head one of children's most beloved toys. Yes, Meg Whitman is all of these things and, of course, much more (like the women who sits on umpteen boards, including those of HP, P&G, and Zipcar; and the woman who formerly served as chief executive officer of FTD).

And now, Meg is also the most high-profile woman working in the private equity industry. That is, she just joined the hotshot PE firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, which also counts among its ranks former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ex-Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, ex-tech analyst guru from Morgan Stanley Mary Meeker, and big-time donor to Democratic causes John Doerr -- who might not be so excited about his new workmate.

Last year, Doerr gave $1 million to defeat California's Prop. 23, "the November ballot initiative that would have gutted [that state's] landmark greenhouse gas law." It was a proposition that, during her campaign, Whitman called a "job killer." She also said "had she been governor when it was passed, she would probably have vetoed it."

Which makes me wonder what Doerr and Whitman will talk about around the KPCB water cooler.

(San Jose Mercury News: Meg Whitman Joins Venture Firm Kleiner Perkins)