After the short tenures of Groupon Inc. chief operating officers Margo Georgiadis and Rob Solomon, the daily deal operator’s CEO Andrew Mason oversaw the day-to-day operations of the company.
But that’s no longer the case, according to a source familiar with Groupon’s operations.
The daily deal operator has promoted Kal Raman from senior vice president, Americas, to senior vice president, global sales and operations, according to a statement Groupon filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC filing includes only Raman’s title, not his job description, and Groupon is in a quiet period in advance of its second quarter earnings report on Aug. 13. However, the source says that the position oversees the company’s domestic and international operations. Those are similar duties to the responsibilities held by Georgiadis and Solomon.
Former Dell Inc. executive Veit Dengler, whom Groupon hired in April as its senior vice president, international, will report to Raman, says the source. And Raman’s role as senior vice president, Americas, will not be filled.
The move is a natural step to take after Groupon made a slew of personnel moves earlier this year, says the source. Now that the daily deal operator has had a chance to see the work of those executives for several months, it is assigning responsibilities that match their respective strengths, she says.
Raman, who began working at Groupon in April, will receive a base salary of $450,000 in his new position according to the SEC filling. He is eligible for an annual bonus of up to 100% of his base salary, prorated to the time he worked at Groupon this year. He’ll also receive a $400,000 signing bonus that will be paid in two $200,000 chunks—one paid 30 days from today, the second six months from today.
Raman most recently worked as general manager of global fulfillment at eBay Inc. He has also worked as senior vice president at Amazon.com Inc., where he led the retail technology and marketing divisions. Prior to Amazon.com, Raman was CEO of Drugstore.com. He has also held numerous management roles at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Amazon is No. 1 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, Walgreen Co., owner of Drugstore.com, is No. 33, and Wal-Mart is No. 4.
Solomon served as chief operating officer for little more than a year, while Georgiadis was in the job for nearly six months, between April and September 2011.
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