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EBay CEO steps down amid ongoing operating review

Wenig took over EBay following its split with PayPal in 2015 and promised to return the marketplace to prominence.

EBay Inc. Chief Executive Officer Devin Wenig is stepping down amid the company’s ongoing operating review.

Scott Schenkel, EBay’s chief financial officer, was appointed as interim CEO, the company announced Wednesday. The company said it will seek a permanent CEO and consider internal and external candidates.

EBay shares fell 1.6% in early trading in New York.

Wenig, 52, has been under pressure from activist Paul Singer, who has been pushing the company to spin off some of its businesses, including StubHub and the Classified Group.

In March, EBay reached an agreement with Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. and Starboard Value to appoint two new directors and undertake a strategic review of its portfolio assets.

Wenig took over EBay following its split with PayPal in 2015 and has made bold promises of returning the marketplace to prominence.

To compete against Amazon.com Inc., Wenig tried to freshen EBay’s image with younger shoppers, made the site easier to navigate and harnessed artificial intelligence to give EBay merchants real-time insights about what shoppers want and how much they’re willing to pay.

But the results have been slow going and EBay has continued to watch Amazon grow at a much faster pace and gobble up more market share and customers.

SOURCE: by Molly Schuetz • Bloomberg