Popular online auction site eBay announced today that Meg Whitman would be stepping down as President and CEO of eBay on March 31, 2008, though she would remain on the company"s board of directors. Whitman, who joined eBay in March 1998, helped it grow from an auction-based trading site with 500,000 registered users, just 30 employees, and $4.7 million in revenue to a company that has hundreds of millions of users worldwide, more than 15,000 employees and nearly $7.7 billion in revenue.
"Meg"s passion for all things eBay changed the world," said Pierre Omidyar, Founder of eBay and Chairman of the Board. "With humor, smarts and unflappable determination, Meg took a small, barely known online auction site and helped it become an integral part of our lives. We"re all enormously grateful that Meg dedicated herself to stewarding eBay through its 10 most formative years."
Replacing Whitman will as President and CEO will be John Donahoe, who came to eBay in February 2005 from Bain & Company. For nearly three years, Donahoe has been President of eBay Marketplaces, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the company"s global revenues. In this role, Donahoe has been responsible for the growth of eBay and its other ecommerce businesses around the world, and during the time he has managed this business unit, both revenues and profits doubled.
In addition, eBay announced several more changes to its corporate lineup: Rajiv Dutta, currently the President of PayPal, has been named Executive Vice President of eBay Inc. and will also replace Donahoe as President of eBay Marketplaces. Scott Thompson, PayPal"s current Chief Technology Officer, will replace Dutta as President of PayPal. And, finally, Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America, has decided to step down from his
role, with Lorrie Norrington, currently President of eBay International, slated to pick up Cobb"s duties.