Peggy White, Yahoo! Finance GM, out: What took y'all so long?

Sarah Gilbert — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:11:00 EST

Filed under: Management, Yahoo! (YHOO), Scandals

For as long as I've been in the "business" of online media and specifically finance, the name "Peggy White" has been synonymous with, well, I'm a nice girl and I don't use that word. Let's just say there was never a time I heard of anyone who loved to work for her. No, on the contrary, those in the finance group at Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) tended to quit early and often due to her quixotic leadership style and her tendency to fly off the handle at her underlings. And for as long as I've been in the business, I've been wondering, when will they figure it out and get rid of her?

The general consensus in the industry was that Peggy White, the GM of the (despite her difficult nature) very-successful Yahoo! Finance, managed up far better than she managed down. Her group's success was attributed all to her, and she effectively kissed enough tushy (or so the scuttlebutt goes) to keep the top brass oblivious to the unhappiness of those below.

But everyone was wondering, when will it end? How soon will her cover be blown and it become obvious that she is the reason everyone in her group keeps hightailing it to the competition? The answer seems to be, this week. According to a report in PaidContent, Peggy's departure was announced on Wednesday, June 13 -- the details are still unclear but here's one vote with the conviction that, no matter how the official announcement is eventually worded, it wasn't for "family reasons."

Most telling of all: when I searched for a photo of Peggy, I could find one nowhere on flickr -- the photo sharing site owned by her now-former company and littered with photos of every other member of the upper echelons of Yahoo!. There's just no love for Peggy White. Update: The inter-company memo is up at Valleywag, and the commenters there (some who seem informed, others who just seem bitter) blame everyone from Peggy herself to the behind-covering of her boss, Scott Moore.

Peggy White, Yahoo! Finance GM, out: What took y'all so long? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay blogging fashion week: 'Style Director'?

Sarah Gilbert — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:17:00 EST

Filed under: Consumer Experience, Conventions and Conferences, Blogs, Rants and Raves, eBay (EBAY), Marketing and Advertising

Lots of bloggers are getting credentials at this year's Fashion Week in New York City, and it's all that the blogosphere can talk about. I was fascinated to see that one of the so-called "bloggers" was Constance White, eBay's Style Director.

I know, you're probably thinking (like I was): eBay has a style director? What, exactly, does she do? It's not like eBay selects inventory for its spring line. (Who are you wearing? Oh, it's eBay, Winter 1997. Vintage.)

Constance's "blog," such as it is, requires an endless supply of double quotes. First of all, I can't see that it's updated with any Fashion Week info; second, I can't see that there are traditional blog accoutrements, such as permalinks, dates, or comments on any of the "posts" (suspiciously formatted to look exactly like a newsletter). Third, it's dated Fall 2005. Oh so stylish! Maybe there's a blog hidden somewhere in eBay's blog archives.

Who is this woman, and how does she fit into eBay's strategy? I love that eBay cares about clothes, I've purchased many a fine garment on the site. But having a style director seems so retail and eBay is a technology company. Right? Or wrong?

I think this, as much news about eBay, is more of an indication of the company's identity crisis than anything. The Power of Too Many.

eBay blogging fashion week: 'Style Director'? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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