Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) hired a new product head just two months back, and the coveted position was given to Parker Barrile, who has now decided to move on, says a report from ReCode. Prior to Parker, the position was held by Jeff Holden, who is now working with Uber.
No comments from Barrile yet
Parker previously worked with LinkedIn for five years as the product executive, and was hired by Groupon after Jeff’s separation from the career networking firm late this summer. Parker holds a degree in management from prestigious Stanford University and has an extensive experience in building and launching Internet products and mobile apps that reach 100s of millions of users.
Barrile, who was working in the capacity of senior vice president of product at Groupon, was responsible for “leading Groupon’s global product teams focused on web, mobile and design,” according to his company bio. Barrile was reporting to the CEO Eric Lefkofsky. The exact reasons for his departure are not known, and there has been no comment from him to date.
Groupon spokesman Paul Taaffe told ReCode that Barrile “is leaving to handle a personal matter.”
Trying time for Groupon
Barrile’s exit comes at a trying time for the company. Groupon is focusing on training its customers to use its site effectively to search for deals and products, and is not relying as much on emails sent to customers at their registered e-mail IDs. Such mails have a high tendency of not being seen by the customer as the saturation of inboxes of customers is increasing day by day. The company has been working towards this goal over the last year, and recently unveiled business listing pages to help users. The company hopes that the larger numner of businesses will help attract more customers to its marketplace.
Groupon’s financial results have seen little positive impact due to these changes. The revenue reported by the company for the second-quarter was lower than the analyst’s estimates. Moreover, earnings expectations for 2014 have been lowered by the company due to an increase in marketing expenses. All these factors have led to a decline in share price, with the stock down 50% since the beginning of the year.
