Yahoo just announced PayPal President Scott Thompson as its new CEO. That obviously leaves a hole at PayPal as Thompson was currently serving in that role. Well, now that he’s leaving and officially starts at Yahoo on January 9, ebay’s current CEO will step up and also serve as PayPal’s president. He announced the move this morning in an internal PayPal memo (embedded below) where he also wished Scott the best.
Donahoe and the rest of PayPal’s board now has the large task of replacing Scott Thompson. PayPal’s outgoing president oversaw PayPal during a period of massive growth. The company went from 50 million users to 104 active users during his tenure. Thompson, who previously served as PayPal’s CTO, is said to be a geek at heart, which no doubt helped the company’s focus to improve online transactions with innovated technologies.
However, this could be an opportunity for rebirth at PayPal. While the company saw huge growth, they also experienced a backlash in the wake of bad publicity and company practices. PayPal needs a new image — and now, a new president.
As you may already have seen, Yahoo! announced this morning that Scott Thompson is joining the company as CEO, effective immediately. Scott informed me Tuesday afternoon, saying that despite his passion for PayPal, this was an opportunity he felt he had to take. I know I speak for everyone in wishing Scott the best.
I will serve in the interim role as President and will be meeting with the PayPal leadership team this morning to plan a seamless transition. And while I’m sure Scott’s decision is a shock to many of you, as it was to me, there is one thing I am certain of: PayPal has an enormous opportunity in front of it and we will not slow down. We will not miss a beat. And we will continue driving the incredible momentum that each of you has helped to create.
PayPal had an outstanding 2011 and a strong close to the fourth quarter. PayPal’s vision is clear. Our strategies are set and we have a strong, focused leadership team in place. And across PayPal, we have you — an incredibly talented team, committed to creating the future of money and changing how the world shops and pays.
Let’s do it, and take this special business to the next level in 2012 and beyond.
John has been President and CEO of eBay Inc. since March 31, 2008. Under John’s leadership, the company has become a global commerce platform and payments leader, with revenue in 2012 of $14.1 billion. Across its eBay, PayPal and GSI Commerce platforms, the company enabled $175 billion of commerce in 2012, which represents about 18 percent of e-commerce worldwide and about 2 percent of global retail. The company also is a mobile commerce leader, with eBay mobile commerce volume...
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