• The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, January 22, 2008 11:30 AM

The first major executive shake up of 2008 comes from eBay, not Yahoo: CEO Meg Whitman, in charge of the online auctioneer for 10 years, will announce her retirement in the coming weeks. John Donahue, whom Whitman recruited in 2005 to become president of the company's auction business, is now the leading candidate to succeed her.

Few executives who helped pioneer the commercialization of the Internet industry have remained on top for as long, except for some who can also claim founder titles, such as Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos and Yahoo Inc. CEO Jerry Yang. Indeed, Whitman helped eBay become the largest ecommerce company on the Web, although in recent years, the company has lost market share, merchants and cachet to burgeoning rivals like Amazon.com. The timing of her departure was Whitman's own choosing.

Slowing growth at eBay and the shifting dynamics of the ecommerce business are perceived as major forces in Whitman's decision. A new CEO and new efforts to reverse the slowdown could involve drastic changes, including a possible sale to or partnership with Yahoo, another flagging Internet giant.

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