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| EBay sees chief executive resign | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Meg Whitman, the chief executive of auction website eBay has resigned after a decade at the helm of the firm. | |
| She will step down on 31 March and is set to be replaced by John Donahoe, who is currently in charge of the firm's main auction business, eBay said. | |
| The news came as the US firm posted a market-beating 53% rise in profits for the three months to December. | |
| Ms Whitman has been lauded for turning eBay into a powerhouse in e-commerce. She will remain a director at the firm. | |
| There had been speculation about her departure earlier this week so it did not come as a shock, while it was also known that Mr Donahoe was being groomed to take over the top job. | There had been speculation about her departure earlier this week so it did not come as a shock, while it was also known that Mr Donahoe was being groomed to take over the top job. |
| Analyst Martin Pykkonen at Global Crown Capital, called the appointment "no big surprise". | |
| "It's more a question of what he's going to do... about fundamentally regenerating their revenue growth rate with sustainable margins," he said. | "It's more a question of what he's going to do... about fundamentally regenerating their revenue growth rate with sustainable margins," he said. |
| Under pressure | Under pressure |
| When Ms Whitman joined the company in 1999, eBay said it had $4m in revenue and 30 employees. | When Ms Whitman joined the company in 1999, eBay said it had $4m in revenue and 30 employees. |
| It has since grown into a multi-billion dollar firm with 15,000 employees and has expanded into a variety of businesses, including buying online payments service PayPal and internet telephone service provider Skype. | It has since grown into a multi-billion dollar firm with 15,000 employees and has expanded into a variety of businesses, including buying online payments service PayPal and internet telephone service provider Skype. |
| But growth in its core listings business has stagnated and analysts are keenly anticipating a new strategy to deal with increasing competition. | But growth in its core listings business has stagnated and analysts are keenly anticipating a new strategy to deal with increasing competition. |
| eBay's guidance on earnings for the coming year fell short of expectations and it is expected that its shares will fall when trading opens in New York on Thursday. | eBay's guidance on earnings for the coming year fell short of expectations and it is expected that its shares will fall when trading opens in New York on Thursday. |