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LivingSocial Names Gautam Thakar CEO

Gautam_Thakar

Gautam Thakar will be joining LivingSocial as its new CEO and president. Mr.  Thakar will assume the role previously held by Tim O’Shaughnessy, who announced earlier this year his intention to step down.

Mr. Thakar joins LivingSocial from eBay, where he has spent over a decade in general management and leadership roles, most recently as GM for eBay’s overall Advertising business. Previously, he served as the head of International Marketing for eBay and as country manager of eBay India. Prior to joining eBay, Mr. Thakar was CEO of Shopping.com (an eBay acquisition).  He started his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble in Asia.

Mr. Thakar will transition to his new role by mid-August and Mr. O’Shaughnessy, one of the original founders of the company, will remain as an advisor to LivingSocial to assist with the transition.

[Image courtesy: LivingSocial]

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