eBay has named John Donahoe President of the eBay Business Unit, a new position. Donahoe comes to eBay from the global business consulting firm, Bain & Company, where he was worldwide managing director. He will report directly to Meg Whitman, eBay's President and CEO.

Donahoe will be responsible for the eBay marketplace, which includes the eBay North America and eBay International business units. Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America, and Matt Bannick, President of eBay International, will report to Donahoe. Donahoe will be responsible for serving the needs of the eBay community and continuing to grow eBay's share of e-commerce around the world.

"I have known John for many years, and he's an incredible strategist and business leader," said President and CEO Meg Whitman. "He'll add to Matt's and Bill's strengths and bring a whole new level of excellence to every facet of the company. Most of all, John appreciates the eBay community and will work hard on making our users even more successful."

Donahoe joined Bain & Company in 1982. He held a variety of management roles in the company before being elected Bain's worldwide managing director in 1999. At Bain, he was responsible for overseeing the firm's 30 offices and more than 3000 employees worldwide. Prior to joining Bain, Donahoe worked for the Rolm Corporation and Salomon Brothers.

More background on Donahoe, along with a photo, can be found on the Dartmouth College Website (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2003/may/051403.html). Donahoe is a 1982 graduate of Dartmouth and sits on the board of trustees.

According to SEC filings, eBay and Donahoe entered into an offer letter dated November 16, 2004, executed on December 5, 2004. eBay had shuffled 3 top executives on December 3 (http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y04/m12/i03/s02). Apparently Jeff Jordan, President of PayPal, will continue to report directly to Meg Whitman.

An excerpt from eBay's SEC filings follows:

eBay and Mr. Donahoe have entered into an offer letter dated November 16, 2004 and executed on December 5, 2004. Under the terms of the offer letter, Mr. Donahoe will be paid an annual base salary of $750,000, and will be eligible for a special retention bonus of up to $2,000,000, of which (i) $500,000 will be payable within two payroll periods of the date of his commencement of employment, and (ii) $500,000 will be payable on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of the date of his commencement of employment, assuming his continued employment with eBay. Mr. Donahoe will also be eligible to participate in eBay's Executive Management Incentive Program, with a target annual bonus of 75% of his base salary.

The offer letter provides that Mr. Donahoe's employment with eBay is "at-will," and does not provide for any change-in-control arrangements or severance payments.