PHILADELPHIA & MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ShopRunner, the leading shopping network of merchants joined together to deliver powerful multi-channel shopping services for consumers, today announced that it has named Internet and payments executive Scott Thompson its Chief Executive Officer. Scott joins ShopRunner at a time when the company is enjoying a fast growth trajectory and represents the ideal time to bring on a new leader to further accelerate the company’s expansion. Current CEO and co-founder Mike Golden will continue with the company as its president.
“Scott and Michael Rubin had worked together for a number of years, and Michael and I took him through the idea of ShopRunner early on. He had an immediate understanding of the potential impact of ShopRunner for consumers and retailers. During his tenure as PayPal’s President, Scott joined the ShopRunner board of directors and we got to see firsthand how much value Scott could add to our business. Michael and I both felt he would be the perfect long-term CEO. We are thrilled that Scott has taken us up on our offer to lead ShopRunner’s continued growth,” said Mike Golden.
ShopRunner launched just 22 months ago and has built a strong network of retailers and powerful services for consumers. During this time, the company has also focused on developing an extensive product development road map. In its next evolution, ShopRunner will be expanding its offerings, both in its breadth of participating merchants, and its benefits to members, including PayRunner, a two-click checkout experience that makes it fast and convenient for ShopRunner members to purchase, and ShopRunner PickupPoints – a service that gives members the option to have packages delivered to thousands of convenient retail store locations. With Thompson at its helm, ShopRunner is positioned to facilitate billions of dollars of commerce, online and offline.
“Joining ShopRunner is a tremendous opportunity to build on the strong foundation that the company has already established,” said Scott Thompson. “While PayPal and ShopRunner are fundamentally different businesses, there are similarities in each of their success. Both companies are focused on building the broadest network of satisfied merchants by providing the value that creates a large and loyal customer community, creating a virtuous circle.”
“Mike Golden has built a great foundation with ShopRunner and we both agreed that it is the perfect time to bring in Scott, who we have gotten to know extremely well over the past few years,” said Michael Rubin, CEO of Kynetic, a majority shareholder of ShopRunner. “Scott’s deep understanding of online businesses combined with his team building, operational capabilities, and focus on product will allow ShopRunner to realize its ultimate potential.”
Most recently, Scott Thompson was CEO of Yahoo!. His career includes leadership positions in the Internet and payment industries including serving as the President of PayPal with overall responsibility for growing the global payment brand. Under his leadership, Thompson turned PayPal into a massive force, growing its user base from 50 million to 104 million active users across 190 countries and having over 8 million merchant partners in its network. Thompson also held positions as PayPal’s senior vice president and chief technology officer, overseeing information technology, product development, and PayPal’s architecture. Prior to PayPal, Mr. Thompson held executive positions with Inovant, a subsidiary of Visa, Barclays Global Investors and Coopers and Lybrand.
For media inquiries, please contact Schwartz MSL at ShopRunner@SchwartzMSL.com.
About ShopRunner
ShopRunner brings together a network of retailers to deliver powerful shopping services for ShopRunner members. ShopRunner’s network enables retailers to offer deeply integrated shopping services that have a stronger consumer value proposition in the aggregate than merchants can deliver on a stand-alone basis. As a result, ShopRunner members shop easily and often across ShopRunner’s network of retail websites and stores. ShopRunner is the first and only company to unite America’s most sought-after retailers in such a mutually beneficial ecosystem. ShopRunner members save time and money with unlimited free two-day shipping as well as free and easy returns. During 2012, members will also be able to easily purchase with PayRunner, a two-click checkout experience, and have the option of receiving their package at thousands of nearby ShopRunner PickupPoint™ locations. By making shopping easier, ShopRunner’s 60+ retailers including Toys”R”Us, American Eagle Outfitters, PetSmart, GNC and Sports Authority are better positioned to compete in today’s marketplace.