Brad Keywell has left his board position at Groupon, the Chicago e-commerce company he co-founded nearly 10 years ago.
Among several executive moves Groupon announced Wednesday, the company said that Keywell---as well as former Shutterfly CEO Jeff Housenbold---will depart the board. The company also announced that Deborah Wahl, the former president and chief marketing officer at McDonald's, is joining its board of directors.
"...I'd like to thank Brad and Jeff for their long service. Both have made innumerable contributions to Groupon -- Brad as a co-founder and Jeff as an experienced digital executive," Groupon Chairman Eric Lefkofsky said in a statement. "We wish them the very best and thank them again making Groupon and the Board stronger."
Keywell is the current CEO and co-founder of Uptake, a fast-growing predictive analytics startup in Chicago. Keywell sent Chicago Inno the following statement when asked for a comment on the move: “I'm proud of where Groupon is headed today. The business is in good hands with its existing board and leadership under the helm of Eric Lefkofsky as Chairman and Rich Williams as CEO.
"Leading Uptake is the primary focus of my time, as our predictive analytics software products continue to demonstrate extraordinary value in asset-intensive industries. We are executing on a playbook that has global impact by allowing major industries to be more reliable, more productive, safer, and more cyber-secure.”
Groupon also announced Wednesday that it has hired Steve Krenzer as its next chief operating officer. He was previously the CEO of Core Digital Media, an online advertising company.
The executive moves come as Groupon reported its third quarter earnings Wednesday, beating Wall Street's estimates on EPS but missing on revenue. The company reported revenues of $634.5 million, missing by $8.5 million.
However, Groupon's stock was up over five percent Wednesday afternoon as it saw its gross profit rise. It posted a gross profit of $309.4 million, up six percent from the same quarter last year. Groupon said it is increasing its focus on maximizing gross profit---which may come at the expense of revenue---and it's raising its gross profit guidance range for the year.
