By Tess Stynes
LivingSocial named eBay Inc. (EBAY) veteran Gautam Thakar as its
new president and chief executive, succeeding co-founder Tim
O'Shaughnessy at the helm of the struggling daily-deals
website.
In January, Mr. O'Shaughnessy said he would step down once a
replacement was found.
Mr. Thakar, currently general manager for eBay's advertising
business, spent more than a decade in general management and
leadership roles at eBay and was chief executive of Shopping.com,
an eBay acquisition. Previously, he served as the head of
international marketing for eBay and as country manager of eBay
India.
Mr. Thakar is expected to transition into his new role in
August. Mr. O'Shaughnessy will stay on as an adviser to assist with
the transition.
Once on a fast track to an initial public offering, LivingSocial
has been cutting costs to help counter tepid demand for daily
deals. The company also has pared back ambitious projects such as
producing live events and has closed office space in its home city
of Washington and elsewhere.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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