eBay Shakes Up US Leadership With New General Manager
UPDATE:
In disappointing, but not surprising news, new eBay US General Manager Dawn Block is starting off with the same mistake her predecessor made - posting a locked community announcement that does not allow sellers to comment or engage beyond giving a "thumbs up."
Sellers have been and will continue to be near and dear to my heart along this new journey. You are entrepreneurial. You are passionate about your businesses and the eBay community. You use this marketplace to create opportunities for yourselves and others. You inspire me.
Coming into this new role, my number one priority will be to support growth for the eBay community. With vibrant sellers comes vibrant buyers and a vibrant community and platform. I look forward to partnering with you and most importantly, listening to you.
I have a great deal to learn from this community. You are the true eBay experts. Your voice matters and your feedback is valued, and it will certainly be used to evolve the eBay platform.
Sellers have grown increasingly concerned about the lack of engagement from eBay on many levels, including the recent discontinuation of the monthly community chat.
While the regularly scheduled chat with eBay staff is no more, the announcement did leave room for future "one off" chats scheduled around timely updates and recent changes.
If Dawn really wants sellers to feel like their feedback is valued, this would be an excellent time to reopen the lines of communication and host an Ask Me Anything session with our new US General Manager!
eBay has a new General Manager for the US as VP Adam Ireland announced in today's Spring Seller Check In that he will be moving to a new role in the company and current VP Collectibles, Electronics and Home, Dawn Block will be stepping up to take on leadership of the US marketplace.
Block joined eBay in 2021 after 8 years at Target, where she lead digital and mobile efforts as well as household essentials, beauty and OTC.
Adam Ireland took on the GM role back in October 2o22 when Jordan Sweetnam moved to SVP Global Markets.
However, his introductory message posted in the eBay community didn't bode well for seller engagement, as he told sellers he looked forward to making connections and serving as their voice in a locked post that didn't allow comments.
Liz Morton
Dawn also emphasised how much she looks forward to listening to and engaging with sellers as the baton was passed during the check in event today.
Time will tell how well that pans out. An introduction in the community forums with comments turned on would be a great place to start!
Adam didn't mention what his new role at eBay will be but his background at Mckinsey and previous positions in strategy and customer experience could be an interesting fit with a possible shift back to a consumer-seller focused strategy.
Will he be stepping in to fill the business strategy hole reportedly left by Stefanie Jay? Stay tuned to find out!
