If there is a philosophy that Andrew Mason lives by, it probably can be summed up from the lyrics in the Frank Sinatra song entitled, " My Way ." However, the founder of Groupon found out today that doing it his way plunged the company he founded into a downward spiral that finally ended in his forced resignation from Groupon today.
Going down
Groupon, an online business discount service website, went public in late 2011 and was valued at over $12 billion, but has continued to underperform since then. With the latest business quarter’s numbers showing yet another huge loss, Andrew Mason was asked to step down from his CEO position, and accepted the board’s request.
In today’s late trading, Groupon stocks lost 24.3 percent of its value or $4.43 per share.
Writing on the wall
The exit of Andrew Mason as CEO of Groupon was long expected by the investment community and even by Mason himself. His antics and “goofy” behavior led others to believe that he was not mature or stable enough to run the daily operations of the company.
In December 2010, Google offered to purchase Groupon for $6 billion, but the bid was turned down. Mason was described as the “worst CEO of the year” by CNBC that same year.
A sense of humor
If anything typified Mason’s character, it was his ability to take things in stride, even when the walls were falling down around him.
In today’s Groupon company farewell letter to his fellow workers, his sense of humor and inner strength was still apparent in the following excerpts:
“After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention... As CEO, I am accountable.
“...If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you.
“If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers.
“I will miss you terribly. Love, Andrew.”
Via New York Times
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/groupon-founder-and-ceo-andrew-mason-forced-to-resign-as-the-company-s-leader?cid=roadrunner