EBay Boss to Quit

EBay’s chief executive of a decade is to quit, according to reports. Meg Whitman, who was named as the third most powerful businesswoman in the world by Fortune magazine last year, will retire from the auction giant on March 31st.

Whitman’s departure coincides with the publication of a disappointing 2008 forecast for the site, which made the cost of shares fall by 5 per cent. These bleak figures contrasted with the positive profits posted for eBay’s three months to December, which saw a leap in profits by 53 per cent to £271 million.

When Ms Whitman, 51, arrived at eBay 10 years ago, the business was relatively small with around 30 employees and a revenue of $4 million. However, Whitman soon established the company into a superbrand, which now boasts over 11,000 employees and a varied portfolio of businesses, including the likes of Skype and Paypal.

Whitman believes that her retirement will offer an opportunity to revitalise the business. She said: "With the level of technological change, competitive dynamics, consumer change in our industry, sometimes you need… a new vision." She will hand the reigns over to her right-hand man, John Donahoe, who is currently responsible for the firm’s main auction business.

Many analysts, who believed that Donahoe was being groomed for the role, were expecting the announcement. One of them, Martin Pykkonen, who works with Global Crown Capital, said the move was "no big surprise." However, Pykkonen did express an interest in how Donahoe will attempt to restore the business to its former glory. He said: "It's more a question of what he's going to do... about fundamentally regenerating their revenue growth rate with sustainable margins." Donahoe is expected to start doing this by maximising fixed-price listings on the site, enabling it to compete with retail sites such as Amazon, as well as cutting the price of listings, which will encourage more people to sell their merchandise on the site.

Source:

Guardian
BBC