She's been campaigning for California governor on her executive skills, but now it seems Meg Whitman lost her cool at least once when she was the CEO of eBay. In 2007 an employee accused Whitman of shoving her in an angry outburst in an executive conference room, and the company is said to have paid a six-figure settlement. Company insiders tell the New York Times that figure was "around $200,000."
Young Mi Kim, who was prepping Whitman for a media interview with Reuters on Second Life when the incident occurred, was not harmed, and still works at eBay as a communications executive. Kim told the Times it was a “private matter” and that she and Whitman had overcome their differences. Whitman's take: “Young Mi and I had a professional disagreement, which we put behind us." The dispute was settled through internal mediation. Other eBay execs say the incident was an anomaly, though Whitman was demanding and could be harsh with employees whose performance she found lacking.
(More Meg Whitman stories.)