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Tag: Board Of Directors

  • Andreessen Leaves eBay’s Board of Directors

    Andreessen Leaves eBay’s Board of Directors

    Marc Andreessen announced he is resigning from eBay’s board of directors as the company prepares to split into two separate entities: eBay and PayPal.

    Andreessen has been on the board for six years. He joined in September of 2008. He said that now is the right time to step down with the split-up on the way.

    eBay President and CEO John Donahoe said: “Marc has been an extraordinary board member, and we greatly appreciate the leadership, insight and expertise he has provided over the past six years. He has provided invaluable support to me, the board and the entire company.”

    “It’s been an absolute privilege to serve with John, Pierre, and team, and I could not be more proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Andreessen said. “I have complete confidence in John and the board to lead eBay and PayPal through the process of embarking on independent paths in 2015. I wish eBay, and both of its successor companies, all the best, and look forward to following the future of eBay and PayPal closely in the years to come.”

    The board decided that splitting up eBay and PayPal would best position both units to “capitalize on their respective growth opportunities in the rapidly changing global commerce and payments landscape.”

    Donahoe and CFO Bob Swan will lead the separation of each business with oversight from the board. eBay’s new CEO will become Devin Wenig, who is currently president of eBay Marketplaces. Dan Schulman is PayPal’s president, and is in charge of finding a CEO for the standalone company.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Apple Adds Sue Wagner To Board Of Directors As Bill Campbell Retires

    Apple Adds Sue Wagner To Board Of Directors As Bill Campbell Retires

    Apple announced on Thursday that Sue Wagner, founding partner and director of BlackRock (not to be confused with politician Sue Ellen Wagner), has been elected to its board of directors as Bill Campbell retires.

    Campbell is the board’s longest-serving member, and has been a part of it for seventeen years.

    Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Sue is a pioneer in the financial industry and we are excited to welcome her to Apple’s board of directors. We believe her strong experience, especially in M&A and building a global business across both developed and emerging markets, will be extremely valuable as Apple continues to grow around the world.”

    Chairman Art Levinson added, “We conducted an exhaustive search for someone who would further strengthen our board’s breadth of talent and background, and we are delighted to have identified such an outstanding individual. I’m confident that Sue is going to make an important and positive impact on our company.”

    Wagner co-founded BlackRock in ’88, and held various leadership positions at the company through 2012. She is still on the BlackRock board as well and that of DSP BlackRock in India. She’s also a board member for Swiss Re, Wellesley College and Hackley School.

    “I have always admired Apple for its innovative products and dynamic leadership team, and I’m honored to be joining their board,” she said. “I have tremendous respect for Tim, Art and the other board members, and I look forward to working with them.”

    Campbell joined Apple in 1983 as its VP of Marketing, he’s actually the longest-serving board member in Apple’s history after Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula.

    “Over the past 17 years, it’s been exciting to watch history unfold as Apple emerged as the premier technology company in the world. Working with Steve and Tim has been a joy,” he said. “The company today is in the best shape that I have seen it, and Tim’s leadership of his strong team will allow Apple to continue to be great going forward.”

    Cook had this to say about Campbell: “Bill’s contributions to Apple are immeasurable and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude. On behalf of the board and the entire company, I want to thank him for being a leader, a mentor and a friend. When Bill joined Apple’s board, the company was on the brink of collapse. He not only helped Apple survive, but he’s led us to a level of success that was simply unimaginable back in 1997.”

    Apple’s chief rival also added a board member this week. Google announced on Tuesday that it has added former Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally to its board. The company also announced on Thursday that its Chief Business Officer, Nikesh Arora, is leaving.

    Image via Wellesley College

  • Facebook Adds UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann to Its Board

    Facebook has just announced that University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann has joined its board of directors.

    Desmond-Hellmann is the second woman to join the board in the past year, after Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg became the first woman to join back in June 2012.

    According to Facebook, Desmond-Hellmann “oversees all aspects of the university and medical center’s strategy and operations. She previously served as president, product development at the biotechnology pioneer, Genentech. In this role, she was responsible for Genentech’s pre-clinical and clinical development, process research and development, business development and product portfolio management. During her 14 years with the company, Desmond-Hellmann brought numerous cutting-edge cancer medicines to market to help people battle the disease.”

    Desmond Hellman, and M.D., also has a Masters in public health. She also serves on Procter & Gamble’s board.

    “I’ve always been drawn to organizations that do ground-breaking work,” said Desmond-Hellmann. “Facebook has an ambitious mission and long-term vision of innovation that is transforming how people connect with one another. I’m proud to be part of a company that is serving such an important purpose in the world.”

    Before Facebook added Sheryl Sandberg to the board, the company faced pressure from activists who said that Facebook’s all-male board was unacceptable in this day and age.

  • Groupon Board of Directors Gets Financially Savvy

    Groupon, who has been having a lot of financial difficulty lately, added some new members to their board of directors yesterday. Daniel Henry, chief financial officer at American Express, and Robert Bass, vice chairman at Deloitte LLP. will both join the board as well as the audit committee with chairman Ted Leonsis.

    Eric Lefkofsky, Groupon
    Chairman, comments on the additions to the board and the audit committee:

    “With their deep financial, accounting and operational experience, Dan and Bob will provide invaluable expertise to the Board going forward,”

    Daniel Henry will be replacing Howard Schultz, who recently stepped down from the board, and Robert Bass will be standing for election at the upcoming stockholder meeting and replacing Kevin Efrusy, who will not stand for reelection.

    Kevin Efrusy comments on his departure from Groupon:

    “I’m thrilled to have been a part of Groupon’s development,”

    “The Company is well on its way to becoming the operating system for all local commerce.”

    Howard Schultz comments on his departure from Groupon:

    “During my tenure on the Board, I was impressed by the game-changing opportunities that Groupon has delivered for both merchants and customers on a global scale,”

    “Groupon has a strong sense of mission and purpose, and as I move on to focus on my other time commitments, I wish them the very best.”

    Groupon CEO, Andrew Mason, comments on the departure of Efrusy and Schultz:

    “Howard and Kevin helped guide us on our journey to becoming a public company and I want to thank them and acknowledge their contributions,”

    Groupons finances have been the subject of much scrutiny lately as they have just restated their first public quarterly results. Stocks in the online coupon giant have dropped at least 10% and continue to fall as the Securities and Exchange Commission contemplates an investigation. Shareholders recently filed a suit against Groupon for their allegedly neglectful business practices and failure to produce results.

    Hopefully these changes at the board of directors will provide some relief to the allegation, but it may be too little too late. We’ll be watching Groupon closely in the next couple months, you can read about any new information that becomes available here.

  • Microsoft Adds Tenth Member to Board

    Microsoft Corp. today announced that John W. Thompson, chief executive officer of privately held Virtual Instruments and former chairman and CEO of Symantec Corp., was appointed to the company’s board of directors, returning the board’s size to 10 members.

    Thompson currently serves as CEO of Virtual Instruments, a privately held company located in San Jose, Calif., whose products are designed to ensure the performance and availability of applications deployed in virtualized and private cloud computing environments. Since 2009, Thompson has been an active investor in early-stage technology companies in Silicon Valley.

    Thompson served as chairman and CEO of Symantec Corp., helping transform Symantec into a leader in security, storage and systems management solutions. During his 10-year tenure as CEO from 1999 to 2009, Symantec’s revenues grew from $632 million to $6.2 billion, and its worldwide workforce grew to more than 17,500 employees. Thompson stepped down as CEO of Symantec in 2009, and stepped down from Symantec’s board of directors in 2011.

    Previously, Thompson held a number of leadership positions at IBM, including sales, marketing, software development and general manager of IBM Americas. He was a member of IBM’s Worldwide Management Council.

    Thompson currently serves on the board of United Parcel Service, and he has served on a number of government boards and commissions, including the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee, and the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology. He formerly served on the national board of Teach for America, an organization dedicated to eliminating educational inequities for all children.