SAN FRANCISCO — Groupon ousted Andrew Mason as chief executive officer a day after reporting results that missed analysts’ projections, underscoring his inability to cope with diminished demand for online daily coupons.
Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofsky and Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis will oversee the company as it searches for a successor. The decision to replace Mason was made at a board meeting Thursday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the meeting was private. The directors plan to hire an outside firm to conduct the search for a permanent CEO, and don’t plan to consider existing board members, this person said.
“I was fired today,” Mason wrote in a public letter that reflected his characteristic sense of humor. “If you’re wondering why, you haven’t been paying attention.”
Mason’s ouster caps a tumultuous tenure marked by financial restatements in the runup to the company’s initial public offering, followed by disappointing results and a plunging share price. The CEO faltered in efforts to lessen Groupon’s dependence on daily discounts on products and services, using a shift into the broader e-commerce market. The company forecast first-quarter sales that missed analyst’s predictions.
