Eric Lefkofsky assumes role as Chairman of the Board
Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) announced today that its Board of Directors
has appointed Rich Williams as Chief Executive Officer and member of the
Board of Directors, effective immediately. Williams succeeds Eric
Lefkofsky, Groupon’s co-founder, who has been Groupon’s CEO since August
2013. Lefkofsky will return to the role of Chairman of the Board, also
effective immediately.
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Groupon, Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Rich Williams as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Williams succeeds Eric Lefkofsky, Groupon’s co-founder, who has been Groupon’s CEO since August 2013. Lefkofsky will return to the role of Chairman of the Board, also effective immediately. (Photo: Business Wire)
“Rich is the right and natural choice for Groupon’s future, and he has
the unanimous support of the Board of Directors. We are fully confident
we have identified the best leader for our employees, customers,
partners and shareholders,” said Ted Leonsis, outgoing Chairman of the
Board and newly appointed Lead Independent Director. “Over the last two
years, Eric has worked tirelessly for the company and the business is
much stronger today because of it.”
“I am honored to be leading the company as Groupon evolves into a daily
habit in our customers’ lives,” said Rich Williams. “Under Eric, we made
significant strides in establishing our marketplace. That work will
continue with a greater focus than ever. As CEO, my top priority is to
unlock the long-term growth potential in the business by demonstrating
everything the new Groupon has to offer. We have a great team here and I
look forward to the opportunities ahead of us.”
During Lefkofsky’s tenure revenue grew 32 percent from $2.3 billion in
2012 to $3.1 billion in 2015 on a trailing-12-month basis, while
adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow stabilized.
“Cracking the code in local commerce is not easy. We’ve come a long way
in building a leading local commerce marketplace in the last two years,”
said Lefkofsky. “With his deep experience in e-commerce — both in and
outside of Groupon — and expertise in marketing, operations and
technology, Rich was the obvious choice to lead Groupon.”
Williams was appointed Chief Operating Officer in June 2015. Prior to
the COO role, Williams was President of North America since 2014, where
he worked to solidify Groupon’s playbook in the United States during a
critical part of the company’s transition to a full mobile local
commerce marketplace. In this role, he helped steer North America to
five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth. He joined the company
in June 2011 as Senior Vice President of Marketing with nearly 20 years
of experience.
“I’m assuming the CEO role with three immediate priorities,” Williams
said. “First, we will renew our investment in customer acquisition to
introduce more new customers to our marketplace and accelerate growth.
Second, we will increase our focus on streamlining our international
operations to ensure we are operating as lean and efficiently as
possible. Finally, we will shift our Shopping category away from lower
margin ‘empty calorie’ products to grow a sustainable, healthy Goods
business with stronger margins.”
About Groupon
Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) is a global leader of local commerce and the
place you start when you want to buy just about anything, anytime,
anywhere. By leveraging the company's global relationships and scale,
Groupon offers consumers a vast marketplace of unbeatable deals all over
the world. Shoppers discover the best a city has to offer on the web or
on mobile with Groupon Local, enjoy vacations with Groupon Getaways, and
find a curated selection of electronics, fashion, home furnishings and
more with Groupon Goods.
Groupon is redefining how traditional small businesses attract, retain
and interact with customers by providing merchants with a suite of
products and services, including customizable deal campaigns, credit
card payment processing capabilities, and point-of-sale solutions that
help businesses grow and operate more effectively. To search for great
deals or subscribe to Groupon emails, visit www.Groupon.com.
To download Groupon's top-rated mobile apps, visit www.groupon.com/mobile.
To learn more about the company's merchant solutions and how to work
with Groupon, visit www.GrouponWorks.com.
Note on Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained in this release that refer to plans and
expectations for the next quarter, the full year or the future are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those
discussed. The words "may," will," should," "could," "expect,"
anticipate," "believe," "estimate," intend," "continue" and other
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ
materially from those included in the forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, volatility in our revenue and operating
results; risks related to our business strategy, including our marketing
strategy and spend and the productivity of those marketing investments;
the impact of our shift away from lower-margin products in our Goods
category; effectively dealing with challenges arising from our
international operations including fluctuations in currency exchange
rates; retaining existing customers and adding new customers, including
as we increase our marketing spend and shift away from lower-margin
products in our Goods category; retaining and adding new and high
quality merchants; cyber security breaches; incurring expenses as we
expand our business; competing successfully in our industry; maintaining
favorable payment terms with our business partners; providing a strong
mobile experience for our customers; delivery and routing of our emails;
maintaining a strong brand; managing inventory and order fulfillment
risks; integrating our technology platforms; managing refund risks;
retaining, attracting and integrating members of our executive team;
litigation; compliance with domestic and foreign laws and regulations,
including the CARD Act and regulation of the Internet and e-commerce;
tax liabilities; tax legislation; maintaining our information technology
infrastructure; protecting our intellectual property; completing and
realizing the anticipated benefits from acquisitions, dispositions,
joint ventures and strategic investments; seasonality; payment-related
risks; customer and merchant fraud; global economic uncertainty; our
ability to raise capital if necessary; difficulties, delays or our
inability to successfully complete all or part of the announced
restructuring actions or to realize the operating efficiencies and other
benefits of such restructuring actions; higher than anticipated
restructuring charges or changes in the timing of such restructuring
charges; and the impact of our ongoing strategic review and any
potential strategic alternatives we may choose to pursue. For additional
information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties, we urge
you to refer to the factors included under the headings ''Risk Factors''
and ''Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations'' in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015
and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
copies of which may be obtained by visiting the company's Investor
Relations web site at http://investor.groupon.com
or the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
Groupon's actual results could differ materially from those predicted or
implied and reported results should not be considered an indication of
future performance.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of
future events. Although Groupon believes that the expectations reflected
in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee
that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and
circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be
achieved or occur. Moreover, neither the company nor any other person
assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements reflect
Groupon’s expectations as of November 3, 2015. Groupon undertakes no
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any
reason after the date of this release to conform these statements to
actual results or to changes in its expectations.
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