LivingSocial CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy Is Leaving
Tim O'Shaughnessy is peacing out. (Twitter)
After a string of bad news for the company, it looks like the cofounder and CEO of LivingSocial is jumping ship.
Tim O'Shaughnessy, head of the daily deals site that brings you fabulous discounts on mozzarella making classes and pole dancing seminars, announced in an email to staff that he'll be stepping down sometime in the first half of the year.
A portion of Mr. O'Shaughnessy's email read:
"Like you, I have given my all to the mission of this company. And I remain 100% convinced the ingredients for success are here. Additionally, I’ve given much thought to the many opportunities that stand in front of us and the benefits that could come from a new perspective and a new voice and approach at the top to lead us there. My responsibility is to recognize that now is the best time to transition leadership – when that full set of ingredients is available to be used most effectively to shape the company’s future."
Though he didn't give extensive details on why now, exactly, is the "best time" to transition leadership, there's no denying LivingSocial has just emerged from some trying times. As the Washington Post reported, LivingSocial lost $106 million in the first nine months of 2013, probably because people realized it sucks trying convince exactly three friends to commit to a discounted brunch at a sub-par Upper East Side bistro.
At the end of 2012, the company also laid off 400 — or 9 percent — of its 4500 employees.
Still, Mr. O'Shaughnessy seemed hopeful for the future — or at least made a last-ditch effort to stop all LivingSocial's remaining employees from finding jobs at Groupon.
"We now have the most stable and healthy business that we have ever had, and the luxury of having hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank to take us to the next level," he wrote.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy will stay at LivingSocial until a new leader is in place, and then maybe he'll go celebrate his departure by cashing in this coupon for 70% Off Laser Toenail-Fungus Removal.
