eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) today announced the appointment of Perry
Traquina and Frank Yeary to its board of directors. Separately, the
company also announced it has entered into a standstill agreement with
Carl Icahn, the company’s largest active shareholder.
“We are delighted to add Perry and Frank, two outstanding and
independent directors, to our board,” said John Donahoe, President and
CEO of eBay Inc. “Their appointments are the result of significant
effort by the nominating committee over the last several months to find
talented new directors who will contribute valuable expertise to eBay
and PayPal as we create two best in class boards. Both of them have a
deep understanding of the investment community and our shareholders,
along with expertise in executive leadership, financial advising and
governance. We look forward to the contributions as we progress toward
the separation of eBay and PayPal and set each business on independent
paths toward sustained growth and profitability.”
Mr. Traquina brings a valuable market-oriented investor perspective to
eBay Inc.’s board, having served as CEO and Chairman of Wellington
Management, one of the world’s largest investment management companies
with over $900 billion of assets under management (“AUM”). Under Mr.
Traquina’s leadership from 2004 until his retirement at the end of 2014,
Wellington more than doubled its AUM, while expanding its investment
team and product line and improving its risk management function. Mr.
Traquina also fostered a culture of diversity and inclusion at
Wellington.
Mr. Yeary brings extensive experience in corporate governance, M&A
strategy and audit committee membership to the board. In 2012, he
co-founded CamberView Partners, a financial advisory firm dedicated to
bringing independent, investor-led advice into corporate boardrooms, and
currently serves as its Executive Chairman. He has deep knowledge of
financial markets and advisory services gained from his more than two
decades of industry experience, including serving as Global Head of
Mergers & Acquisitions for Citigroup Global Markets and Chairman of
Salomon Smith Barney’s Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications
(TMT) Investment Banking Group. Mr. Yeary also serves as a member of
Intel’s board of directors.
“I’m thrilled to join the board of such an innovative company as it
embarks on a path to capitalize on eBay and PayPal’s respective growth
prospects,” said Mr. Traquina. “The separation is an excellent
opportunity to create sustainable and lasting value – providing
shareholders more targeted investment opportunities while preserving the
benefits of the current relationships.”
“This is an exciting time in eBay’s history and I am delighted to join
the board of the company that revolutionized the online shopping and
payments experience for millions of consumers worldwide,” said Mr.
Yeary. “eBay has a tremendous leadership team and board, and I look
forward to working with them to complete the separation and launch eBay
and PayPal as standalone businesses with best-in-class governance
structures.”
The company also announced today that it has entered into a standstill
agreement with investor Carl Icahn. In addition to certain corporate
governance provisions to be adopted by PayPal as an independent company
at the time of its spin-off from eBay Inc., the agreement appoints Icahn
Capital executive Jonathan Christodoro to eBay Inc.’s current board of
directors. The agreement with Mr. Icahn allows him to determine which
board Mr. Christodoro will serve on at the time of separation.
Mr. Donahoe continued, “We are pleased to reach an agreement with Carl
Icahn and to add Jonathan to the board. This agreement reflects our
alignment on separation and our shared belief in the benefits of
avoiding distractions. We look forward to contributions of all of our
directors as we work to set up eBay and PayPal for success and create
strong boards for each of the new companies.”
With the appointments of Traquina, Yeary and Christodoro, eBay Inc.’s
board is comprised of 15 directors, 13 of whom are independent.
On September 30, 2014, eBay Inc. announced that its board of directors
had approved a plan to separate the company’s eBay and PayPal businesses
into two independent publicly traded companies in 2015, subject to
customary conditions.
About Perry Traquina
Mr. Traquina had a successful 34-year career at Wellington Management,
retiring in 2014. He held a series of positions of increasing
responsibility, including Assistant Vice President, Director of Global
Research, Partner and President. From 2004-2014, he served as Chairman,
CEO and Managing Partner. Mr. Traquina graduated from Brandeis
University, received an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a
Chartered Financial Analyst.
About Frank Yeary
Mr. Yeary currently is Executive Chairman of CamberView Partners and
also serves a member of Intel’s board of directors. He previously was
Co-founder and Chairman of Level Money and, from 2008-2012, was Vice
Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, where he designed
and implemented multiple financial and operating reforms. Prior to 2008,
he held a number of leadership positions at Citigroup Global Markets,
including Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, a member of the
Investment Banking Management Committee and Chairman of Salomon Smith
Barney’s Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) group.
Mr. Yeary graduated from University of California, Berkeley.
About Jonathan Christodoro
Jonathan Christodoro has served as a Managing Director of Icahn Capital
LP, the entity through which Carl C. Icahn manages investment funds,
since July 2012. Mr. Christodoro is responsible for identifying,
analyzing and monitoring investment opportunities and portfolio
companies for Icahn Capital. Prior to joining Icahn Capital LP, Mr.
Christodoro held positions at P2 Capital Partners, LLC, Prentice Capital
Management, LP and S.A.C Capital Advisors, LP. He began his investment
banking career at Morgan Stanley. He earned an MBA from the University
of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with Distinction, and his
BS in Applied Economics and Management Magna Cum Laude with Honors
Distinction in Research from Cornell University.
About eBay Inc.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce and payments leader,
providing a robust platform where merchants of all sizes can compete and
win. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. connects millions of
buyers and sellers and enabled $205 billion* of commerce volume in 2013.
We do so through eBay, one of the world’s largest online marketplaces,
which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth;
through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely,
easily and quickly send and receive digital payments; and through eBay
Enterprise, which enables omnichannel commerce, multichannel retailing
and digital marketing for global enterprises in the U.S. and
internationally. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces
such as StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, and eBay
classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000
cities around the world. For more information about the company and its
global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
* This adjusted number reflects decision to remove vehicles and real
estate GMV from ongoing total GMV and ECV metrics (previously stated ECV
for 2013 was $212 billion, incorporating vehicles and real estate GMV).
Copyright Business Wire 2015