eBay Bids for Revitalization

New boss John Donahoe is shaking up the onetime online growth machine

JONATHAN SPRAGUE/REDUX FOR TIME

Rebound Donahoe, a.k.a. Dennis the Menace in eBay-speak, in his executive cubicle.

Like everyone else at eBay's San Jose, Calif., campus, John Donahoe sits in a cubicle. Though this is one of the dotcom biz's oldest clichés, the company's 6-ft. 5-in. new CEO really does use the cramped space--filled with eBay trinkets and pictures of his wife (an Obama campaign fundraiser) and four children (all basketball players and eBay users)--as his primary office. That visibility and openness has earned Donahoe, brought in by Meg Whitman from Bain & Co. three years ago and promoted to replace her in March, respect from employees and customers alike. The conference room where Donahoe holds meetings has...

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