John Donahoe officially takes the reins at eBay as Meg steps down as CEO on Monday. It’s the end of an era as Bill Cobb also retires at the end of the year.
In the US this is big news with the event recorded in USA today, which notes the recent seller unrest on fee changes. Interestingly JD vows to put great emphasis on fixed price listings, although revitalising the auction format has been promised as a priority. As ever the article confirms JD as investor focused, with Robert Peck of the troubled eBay investor, Bear Stearns, quoted as saying “He is tremendously open and receptive to Wall Street, shareholders and the eBay community”.
If you’re going to eBay Live! in Chicago this year it’s worth hanging around the local coffee shops. Scot Wingo of ChannelAdvisor tells how JD sought the answers on how to reinvigotate the eBay platform in Starbucks. Scot advised Fees, Finding and Fraud as the main barriers for sellers, solving the ‘Three F’s’ might take longer than a cup of coffee, but Wingo insists eBay have come a long way in the last year.
Scot is currently at Pinehurst in North Carolina for the ChannelAdvisor Catalyst US conference which opens tomorrow. He then travels to London for Catalyst UK on the Thames later this month and then to Australia in July. JD shouldn’t worry though, he’ll be home in the US in Chicago for eBay Live in June ;-).
One Response
Looking forward to Catalyst, should be a great event.