Some CEOs are incredibly thin-skinned, they hire a bunch of people who usually got kicked out of the police after they harassed/beat someone, and then self-destruct with their own personal army when they can't handle the heat (you will get criticised daily).
Btw, something that was coincident with this (I believe) was the activist campaign against EBay...again, the number of executives who self-destruct when they see proof that they are bad at their job is significant (I wouldn't like to venture a guess at a proportion but I have seen this 10+ times).
Just imo, the problem is always lack of oversight. Boards not really asking whether the executives are up to the job, fat expense accounts with lots of these ex-police nutjobs stalking people, it is just total madness. Companies become captured by these executives.
(I used to know a guy who ran a relatively small fund but used to short sell frauds, mainly accounting as the guy used to be an accountant. He had to go to great lengths to hide what he was doing because the second a company found out, they would send people to wait outside his office/follow him/etc. and this is just a nobody guy running a small fund in a mid-tier financial city i.e. not London, or New York, or HK...I call these executives the Harvard Business School Al-Qaeda, truly dangerous people).
I thought it was becoming common knowledge this is the case in many Silicon Valley campuses...
https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-tesla-employee-claims-the...
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/3/16408724/waymo-uber-lewan...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-nuvia-lawsuit/apple...
I am pretty sure none of these people used their corporate issued cell phones...
It wouldn't take much to get a nice Stingray and plant it at HQ...
“ An anonymous caller had contacted the company to say Tripp was planning a mass shooting at the Gigafactory. When the police confronted Tripp that evening, he was unarmed and in tears. He said he was terrified of Musk and suggested the billionaire might have called in the tip himself.”
> Those involved became so concerned that they developed a list of people in California they could frame if authorities tracked the harassment there, Lelling said
> "On April 10, 2019... Executive 2 texted Executive 1... sending along a link to the Newsletter’s coverage that day [2] of Executive 1's compensation".
[1] https://www.scribd.com/document/465728291/FBI-Affidavit-agai...
[2] https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2019/4/155...
"... the article stated that Executive 1 “has been unable to stop a decline in market sales, but trying to dissuade sellers from turning to Amazon (and trying to get Amazon to stop recruiting sellers) may not be the best tactic."
From the couple's blog [2]:
"eBay's CEO has been unable to stop a decline in marketplace sales, but trying to dissuade sellers from turning to Amazon (and trying to get Amazon to stop recruiting sellers) may not be the best tactic."
If proven true, the CEO was not only aware, but also condoned such tactics, and ordered to "Take her down". This will make the situation even worse for ebay's board to justify why they didn't fire the guy on the spot.
[1] https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/15/metro/six-former-ebay...
[2] https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2019/8/156...
https://www.wired.com/story/ebay-employees-charged-cyberstal...
[0] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/ebay-ceo-devin-wenig-is-step...
If that is your reaction, seriously, go and watch it. It really is an extraordinary set of allegations. It's nine minutes long and it just gets weirder and weirder.
https://www.scribd.com/document/465728291/FBI-Affidavit-agai...
It says on June 30, the Ebay CFO and two Ebay board members are "retiring".
Commenters in this thread are questioning why this blog was targeted and speculating without any facts.
May I suggest reading the FBI's Criminal Complaint:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200616015754if_/https://assets...
Additonally, here is a PDF of the FBI's Affidavit, instead of the scribd nonsense.
https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/06/15/ebayaffadavit.pdf
For those who will not read the complaint, here's a few excerpts:
18. On April 10, 2019, for example, Executive 2 texted Executive 1, "We are going to crush this lady", sending along a link to the Newsletter's coverage that day of Executive 1's compensation.
19. On April 20, 2019, discussing the Wall Street Journal's coverage of Executive 1, Executive 1 texted to Executive 2, "Fuck them. The journal is next on the list after [Victim 1]."
20. On May 31, 2019, commenting on the Newsletter's coverage of eBay that day, Executive 2 texted to Executive 1, "Shockingly reasonable..." Executive 1 replied, "I couldn t care less what she says." Seconds later, Executive 1 added, "Take her down."
22. Like many news outlets, the Newsletter offered its readers the opportunity to comment underneath Victim 1 s stories. The anonymous comments were sometimes critical of eBay and its executive leadership team. At other times, the comments amounted to namecalling. For example, a May 2015 comment called eBay executives liars and thugs who should be jailed; a May 2017 comment called Executive 1 the devil; and an April 2018 comment stated that Executive 1 was delusional.
23. One commenter in particular, who went by the online nicknames FidoMaster, FidoMaster1, Dan Davis, or UnsuckeBay (collectively, the Parody Account expressed frequent and negative opinions regarding eBay.2 In addition to commenting below the Newsletter s articles, the anonymous author(s) of the Parody Account sometimes posted opinions critical of eBay in Twitter feeds, impersonated official eBay communications using a distorted version of the company's logo, or sent messages that one eBay seller considered to be harassing.
24. On May 21, 2019, for example, the Newsletter reported that eBay had built on its campus an expensive replica of Walker a popular Manhattan bar noting, "It's probably news to sellers (and shareholders?) that eBay has a pub-like lounge on campus especially one built with what appears to be no-expenses spared." FidoMaster1 tweeted a link to the article, noting @[Newsletter] posted about @eBay s beleagured [Executive 1 s] self-indulgent vanity project Walker's West campus bar. The tweet continued, "The bar, [Executive 1's] recreation of iconic @WalkersBarNYC is a throwback to internet and gaming company CEO s lavish overspending on legacy facilities and landmarks." FidoMaster1 also criticized Executive 1 for undertaking the project while eBay was experiencing cost reduction, layoffs, and scrutiny by activist investors.
25. In March 2019, in response to a request from Executive 2, the GIC prepared a report for BAUGH summarizing the Parody Account s discussions of eBay over the last year. The report noted that FidoMaster1/Dan Davis was an anonymous [T]witter user that posts negative content about eBay and its senior leadership. Regarding Fidomaster1/Dan Davis relationship with the Newsletter, the report noted the owner of this account corresponds regularly with [the Newsletter] editor [Victim 1] about issues pertaining to eBay. [Victim 1] and [the Newsletter] are known for publishing negative content about eBay and its executives.
31. On or about July 18, 2019, Executive 1's spouse texted BAUGH privately about a comment underneath a Newsletter article that called Executive 1 a con artist and thief. The spouse wrote: "I'm not exactly thrilled with this post on my favorite [Newsletter]. The author gets people worked up with the way she skews her stories. Don t tell [Executive 1] I sent this I m just letting you know about it. Ok?"
34. On August 1, 2019, the New York Times published an article reporting that eBay had accused Amazon in a lawsuit of unlawfully poaching eBay sellers to Amazon s online marketplace.
35. That day, at approximately 1:46 p.m., Victim 1 posted an article on the Newsletter under the headline "eBay RICO Lawsuit Meant to Curb Seller Exodus to Amazon?" Victim 1's article reported on both Executive 1 and eBay's lawsuit: "[Executive 1] has been unable to stop a decline in market sales, but trying to dissuade sellers from turning to Amazon (and trying to get Amazon to stop recruiting sellers) may not be the best tactic."
36. Just half an hour later, at 2:19 p.m., Executive 1 texted Executive 2: "[Victim 1] is out with a hot piece on the litigation. If you are ever going to take her down..now is the time."
37. Executive 2 responded shortly afterward by text message: "On it."
eBay just released a statement[0] which alludes to both the Chief Communications Officer and the CEO (!) having been involved.
edit: Another article[1] provides more details, including that "an eBay executive told Baugh that he wanted to 'crush' those responsible for the newsletter while another executive told Baugh to 'take her down.'" One of these must be the "inappropriate communications" by the CEO, Devin Wenig, mentioned in eBay's statement.
edit 2: Still more details in another[2] article, including quotes from communications between "Executive 1" and "Executive 2."
[0] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ebay-inc-issues-statement-reg...
[1] https://natick.wickedlocal.com/news/20200615/6-former-ebay-e...
[2] https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/15/metro/six-former-ebay...