Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) has hired former LinkedIn executive Parker Barrile as its Senior Vice President of product for teams focused on web, mobile and design. Barrile, who has been with LinkedIn for five years, was the Vice President of Product management supervising teams working in the company’s core products for monetizing the professional, social networking site, giving in 5 years of his career in the company.
Barrile has vast experience
At his new workplace, Barrile will report to CEO Eric Lefkofsky, and will work from the daily deal company’s Palo Alto office from September.
“Parker brings tremendous value to Groupon both as an entrepreneur and an established, effective product leader in global tech organizations,” said Eric Lefkofsky, in a statement. He added that Barrile will enhance the local commerce platform to engage the customers and make Groupon a high-end shopping destination.
According to Barrile, Groupon has a commendable track record of product innovation and offers huge potential. Barrile said that he is excited about the opportunities to transform the commerce to offer better facilities to “merchants and delight customers.”
Before LinkedIn, Barrile was the CEO of Predictify, a company he founded that allow members to cast their vote on various predictions of the current events. Also, he has worked with Google and Bain& Company.
Groupon 2Q: What to expect?
Groupon is set to announce its financial and operational results for the second-quarter after the market close. Revenue for the company is expected to come in at $761.9 million, an increase of 25.2% on a year over year basis. Groupon is projected to post earnings of $0.01 per share, more than the loss of one cent in the corresponding quarter of a previous year. Expectations are that the company will post earnings in the range of one cent to six cents per share.
From April to August, Groupon has experienced substantial increase in the short interest, from 1.67% to 19.08% suggesting that investors are bearish on the stock after earnings release. Shares of the company have declined 42.9% so far this year, and after reaching a high of $12.76 in September 2013, the stock has declined around 50%. The company is undergoing a transformation after chief executive Andrew Mason exited the company in February last year. To earn more customers the company is focusing on offering deals for longer time frame.
