A few months ago, I started wondering about eBay's chief executive, Meg Whitman. It occurred to me that her tenure was growing old, and I speculated about whether she might step down in the next 12-18 months.
Today, I'm even more concerned about eBay's management team. The company has been rapidly losing all the bright stars who shone in my investing galaxy when I first decided to buy eBay back in 2000. Forbes has an illuminating look at the brain drain at PayPal, recently capped off by news that Jeff Jordan would be stepping down "for family reasons." Jordan, an executive that I met a few years before he took over as CEO of PayPal, is a charismatic, slick, management consultant type: in short, exactly the sort of person Meg has always preferred. As she said in her statement regarding his departure, Jordan is a friend.
Jeff Jordan's not the only friend Meg Whitman has lost. Maynard Webb, her longtime friend and eBay COO, retires next month, as I noted earlier. It's hard to say whether the other PayPal execs mentioned in the Forbes article had time to become friendly with Meg, but it's certain that their departure can't be a good thing. Instead of infusing life into eBay, they're out setting trends and making news at companies like YouTube (Chad Hurley), Slide (Max Levchin) and LinkedIn (Reid Hoffman), or directing oodles of money at hedge funds and venture capital firms.
Other than praising the "freewheeling" management style at the old PayPal, and wondering if that "spirit" is "hard to sustain," Forbes doesn't analyze the departures, as they relate to eBay's future, much. Sure, PayPal had an entrepreneurial culture that's spread out into the startup-osphere now. But Jeff Jordan didn't even come from PayPal. He started out as a corporate strategy guy, in charge of acquisitions. His leaving isn't just a reflection on that unit, but on eBay as a whole.
I know I'm not making any brilliant insights by pointing out that, when a number of managers leave, it's not a good sign. But I'd just like to point out that the managers who are leaving are the best, most trusted friends of the company's CEO: a woman known for hiring, developing and recognizing her friends. And, for the record, I'm staying worried about Meg's future.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-13-2006 @ 7:23PM
Tom Funder said...
Just, don't be too pessimistic ;) These guys know how to organize business and even losing such stars like Jeff Jordan.
7-13-2006 @ 9:30PM
Ann Lambert said...
I am with Tom, the media is just that..media, Mr. Jeff Jordan did indeed departed for time with family,
(see Ebay SEC form 8-K file on 7-13-06), states he will provide consulting services part-time after he
leaves in the 3rd quarter (see Ebay)
http://www.edgar-online.com/