KEY POINTS:
SAN FRANCISCO - EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman, one of the most powerful women in business, is preparing to retire from the online auctioneer, The Wall Street Journal said yesterday.
A departure by the Silicon Valley veteran would come as one of the internet's best-known companies tries to recapture the runaway growth that made it a household name connecting buyers and sellers through online auctions.
Whitman, 51, would also be following her own advice that no CEO should stay in the same job for more than a decade, a philosophy that reflects the unassuming character that made her popular among the sellers who use eBay's auction site.
John Donahoe, the 47-year-old president of eBay's auction business unit, is the leading candidate to succeed Whitman, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified sources.
The report said Whitman's departure could be announced within weeks, although it added that the situation "remains fluid." Whitman recently began delegating more daily responsibilities and is completing succession plans, it said.
EBay spokesman Hani Durzy declined to comment.
Shares of eBay fell 4 per cent to $27.14 in morning trade on the NASDAQ amid a global stock market sell-off tied to fears the US economy is sinking into recession. Analysts have said eBay's business could prove durable in a downturn, as consumers use its sites to hunt for bargains.
EBay had only a few dozen employees when Whitman joined as president and CEO in early 1998 following a job overseeing marketing for Hasbro toys like Mr Potato Head. EBay's initial public offering came six months later.
"No CEO should stay more than a decade in the same job," Whitman said close to the time she joined the company, arguing that executives need fresh challenges and organisations need new perspectives.
Under her leadership, eBay has turned into one of the most-visited sites on the internet.
But the company's growth has weakened in recent years. A slower core auction business, rising competition from online retailers, and missteps with the acquisition of online communications company Skype have cut its stock price by half from a peak of just over $56 in late 2004.
Last October eBay announced a $1.4 billion write-down of its investment in Skype.
Donahoe has been seen as a leading contender for CEO.
He joined eBay in March 2005 and now runs the marketplaces business, the biggest of three main segments that make up eBay. The other key businesses are PayPal online payments and Skype communications.
Challenges ahead
The company is to announce it is slashing the fees for listing items on eBay while raising the fees sellers pay for completed transactions.
Pricing changes could put additional pressure on the company's margins and revenue growth, even as consumer spending is likely to be lackluster, Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel wrote in a research note to investors on Tuesday.
Critics have also said the company should consider a mega-merger, perhaps with Yahoo Inc or Microsoft Corp, in a bid to fend off inroads from internet search leader Google Inc.
Whitman, a former management consultant who graduated from Princeton University, was known for a folksy style that made her a trusted voice among the auctioneer community.
During her presentation at a Goldman Sachs conference in Las Vegas last May, an audience member challenged her by asking for a show of hands of those who had recently bought items on eBay. Not many hands were raised in a room full of top-flight investors.
Whitman responded that eBay's core demographic was "more likely to be found shopping in the aisles of Wal-Mart."
Prior to joining eBay, Donahoe was the worldwide managing director of Bain & Co, where he oversaw the consulting firm's 29 offices and 3,000 employees. Whitman was Donahoe's boss for a time at Bain, and she recruited him to eBay.
Donahoe also previously held jobs at corporate phone equipment maker Rolm Corp and at Salomon Brothers, now a unit of Citigroup.
- REUTERS
