EBay Honcho Whitman to Step Down

High-profile CEO preparing for retirement, insiders say
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:50 AM CST
EBay Honcho Whitman to Step Down
The exterior of the eBay Inc. headquarters is seen in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Meg Whitman has presided over years of spectacular growth at the online auction site but it's momentum is gradually slowing down. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)

Meg Whitman is getting ready step down as eBay chief executive, the Wall Street Journal reports. She has been delegating more of her responsibilities, insiders tell the Journal,  and preparing for a successor to take charge. Whitman has been at the helm of eBay for almost a decade, a particularly long time for Silicon Valley.

Since taking charge in 1998, Whitman has presided over 40 consecutive quarters of growth for the online auction site, and has seen sales leap from $86 million to almost $6 billion. John Donahoe, president of eBay's auction business unit, is said to be the leading candidate to succeed her, and will have to deal with the firm's slowing momentum and stagnant sales. (More eBay stories.)

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