• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechHewlett Packard Enterprise

Here’s Why Meg Whitman Says She Won’t Run for President

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 10, 2017, 8:06 AM ET

There will be no 2020 presidential campaign for Meg Whitman, in case you were wondering.

On Monday, the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise CEO ruled out a bid during an onstage interview at a tech conference in Atlanta. Whitman was asked pointedly if she would consider a presidential run if drafted. Her response? “No. I would not. I would definitely not think about it. Someone tweet that — I am not thinking about running for president,” according to tech news site CRN, which hosted the event.

Related: Whitman’s Five Year Plan For HP. Mission Accomplished?

Whitman, number seven on Fortune‘s 2017 Most Powerful Women list, is no political novice. Seven years ago, Whitman ran as a Republican candidate for governor of California, losing to Jerry Brown, despite spending $140 million of her own money. In the 2016 presidential race, she initially backed N.J. governor Chris Christie, but ended up supporting Democrat Hillary Clinton in the general election against Donald Trump.

Speaking at the conference, Whitman said politics has become a tough sell for anyone.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

“We should be glad that anyone wants to run for public office,” Whitman said at the event. “This is one brutal game. It was in 2010 when I ran, and I think it is worse today. Honestly, it is a full-on combat sport. Think about it: why are there so many more litigators than there are politicians? Because they are used to that full-on combat sport.”

Related: Bye Bye, HP

Whitman is a seasoned veteran in Silicon Valley, even before taking on the top job at HP in 2011. Over the following few years, Whitman launched an aggressive turnaround plan for the struggling company, which involved tens of thousands of layoffs. She ended up engineering the split of that iconic company into HP Enterprise (HPE) and HP Inc. (HPQ)., which became final in 2015. Before HP, Whitman was CEO of online retail site eBay (EBAY) from 1998 to 2008.

Over the last few months, Whitman garnered headlines over another job she reportedly did not want: the new CEO at Uber. (That did not happen.)

Given her words this week, it’s safe to say Whitman is out of politics for good, right? Maybe not. Whitman did leave some wiggle room when she noted that she might want to go into public service as her next step. “We’ll see what happens,” she said.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
AIAnthropic
Exclusive: Anthropic acknowledges testing new AI model representing ‘step change’ in capabilities, after accidental data leak reveals its existence
By Beatrice NolanMarch 26, 2026
5 hours ago
Anthropic's logo on a wall.
AIAnthropic
Exclusive: Anthropic left details of an unreleased model, invite-only CEO retreat, sitting in an unsecured data trove in a significant security lapse
By Beatrice NolanMarch 26, 2026
5 hours ago
Startups & VentureDefense
Defense startup Shield AI is projecting more than $540 million in revenue this year as valuation more than doubles to $12.7 billion
By Jessica MathewsMarch 26, 2026
7 hours ago
AIAnthropic
U.S. judge blocks Pentagon’s ‘Orwellian notion’ to label Anthropic a supply chain risk and ban Claude from the government
By The Associated PressMarch 26, 2026
7 hours ago
AIData centers
Southeast Asia could become a booming AI market if its data centers can beat the heat
By Angelica AngMarch 26, 2026
11 hours ago
New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro pictured
Arts & EntertainmentDisney
Disney CEO’s no good, very bad week: Josh D’Amaro is dealing with 3 major headaches
By Tristan BoveMarch 26, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

C-Suite
'I didn’t want anybody shooting me': Five Guys CEO gave away $1.5 million bonus to employees over botched BOGO burger birthday celebration
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
2 days ago
Environment
Vail Resorts CEO says it’s time to think beyond the $1,000 ski pass that helped build the empire
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
3 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
4 days ago
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 25, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
2 days ago
Economy
Social Security insolvency: How a six-figure cap to flatten benefits for the ultrawealthy could buy the program 7 critical years
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
24 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.