Rajiv Dutta to retire from eBay; Lorrie Norrington to head eBay Marketplaces
Effective in October, Rajiv Dutta, President, eBay Marketplaces, will retire from the company. Lorrie Norrington will be succeeding Rajiv as President of eBay Marketplaces. She will report directly to eBay President and CEO John Donahoe. John announced it on the eBay Q2FY08 earnings call this afternoon.
KEY QUOTES FROM THE OFFICIAL RELEASE:
“Rajiv has made tremendous contributions to eBay’s growth and success, and has been an extraordinary leader over the past decade,” John Donahoe said. “We wish Rajiv well, and know he will continue to be a strong supporter. He will always be part of the eBay Community.”
“I am deeply grateful to have been part of building eBay for the past decade.” Rajiv Dutta said. “With clear growth strategies and a very strong management team in place, the time is right for me to step away. I will remain a passionate champion of eBay and our powerful Community of buyers and sellers who make eBay the most unique and dynamic marketplace in the world.”
“It’s been a real privilege to work with Rajiv on re-accelerating growth in our Marketplace,” Lorrie Norrington said. “We have strong growth strategies in place and a team committed to changes that create a healthy, vibrant Marketplace for the eBay Community. We want eBay to be the most competitive marketplace online, offering great opportunities for sellers and terrific experiences for buyers.”
With Norrington’s promotion, Stephanie Tilenius, General Manager of eBay North America, will assume additional responsibilities for all of eBay North America operations, including some functions that previously reported to Norrington. Tilenius also continues to be responsible for global product management.
The full press release can be found here: eBay Executive Changes
Lorrie has been positioned quite front-and-center since I joined eBay back in January – she was the only executive to share the keynote stage with John Donahoe at eBay Live! last month – so her appointment comes as no surprise; a natural progression for her within the organization. And congratulations are in order – I’ll be interested to get some time with Lorrie in the near future to talk about the new challenges and opportunities she’ll be facing.
That being said, it will be sad to see Rajiv go. Although my interaction with him has been limited, I enjoyed what conversations we did have over the short period of time I’ve been here. For the co-workers and colleagues he leaves behind after 10 years of working together, I’m sure the move is much more bittersweet; happy for Rajiv to take advantage of spending more time with his family and reflect on all that has been accomplished since 1998, but most definitely sorry to see him go.
Cheers,
RBH