Online retailer eBay has tapped a Walmart executive as its new chief executive.
Jamie Iannone, Walmart's chief operating officer for U.S. e-commerce, will take the top job, eBay said Monday in a news release. He will step into the role on April 27.
Iannone played a key role in Walmart's digital strategy and was one of the retailer's rising stars. He was credited with growing the membership and online sales of Sam's Club, the retailer's membership-based subsidiary. In late February, he was promoted to lead Walmart's e-commerce business in the U.S.
With the new role, Iannone is returning to eBay. He spent nearly eight years at the company as a vice president, according to the news release.
Iannone worked at Walmart-owned Sam's Club for about six years. He was previously CEO of SamsClub.com and executive vice president of membership and technology. Before joining Sam's Club, he was executive vice president of digital products at Barnes & Noble, where he helped oversee its Nook devices and digital book business.
Sam's Club has served as a test ground for Walmart's digital initiatives. It launched a service called Scan & Go that allows shoppers to skip the line and check out through a smartphone app instead. It has another voice-enabled app, called "Ask Sam," that helps employees find an item or answer customers' questions more quickly.
Iannone will succeed Devin Wenig, who left eBay in September. Wenig resigned from his role as eBay faced pressure from two activist investors, Elliott Management and Starboard Value. The hedge funds pushed the company to review its portfolio and consider selling off assets, including its ticket sales service, StubHub, and its classified ads business, to drive up the value of shares.
Wenig explained his departure in a tweet, saying that he "was not on the same page as my new Board."
About two months after his departure, eBay announced it was selling StubHub to Swiss ticket vendor Viagogo for about $4 billion.
During the company's search for a new leader, eBay's chief financial officer, Scott Schenkel, served as its interim CEO.
Thomas Tierney, chairman of eBay's board, said in a news release that Iannone was the "ideal CEO to lead eBay's next chapter of growth and success."
"We have all been impressed by his strong track record of innovation, execution, operational excellence, and developing teams that drive results," he said. "Jamie has consistently delivered high growth during rapid periods of industry disruption, consumer change and technological advancement."
Shares of eBay were up more than 2% on Monday afternoon.
