Business torrents

William Cobb, the former president of eBay Inc.’s U.S. Marketplaces division, was elected to the board of directors at H&R Block Inc. on Monday.

Company leaders hope his expertise can help H&R Block improve performance in the increasingly important digital segment, which includes programs that let consumers prepare taxes online.

At eBay, Cobb was responsible for more than $25 billion in gross merchandise sales, $2.6 billion in revenue and more than 5,000 associates. He also oversaw affiliated businesses such as StubHub, Shopping.com and Rent.com. During his eight years at eBay, Cobb also was general manager of eBay International and head of global marketing for eBay.

Before his time at eBay, Cobb held senior marketing positions at Pepsico/Tricon, which now is YUM Brands. For more than 12 years, he handled marketing for companies such as KFC International, Pizza Hut International and Taco Bell International.

Cobb holds director positions at Orbitz Worldwide, Pacific Sunwear of California and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group No teletrak payday loan.

“Over an eight-year period, Bill helped build eBay into one of the largest and most successful e-commerce businesses in the world,” H&R Block Chairman Richard Breeden said in a release. “As we consider opportunities to enhance our digital business, such as online tax filing and prepaid debit cards, Bill’s experience will be extremely helpful to us. His extensive marketing experience for highly successful brands also will be an important addition to the board. Bill has a proven record of creating shareholder value in the digital arena and also brings high-level executive leadership experience to our board.”

H&R Block suffered a disappointing tax season this year, and one key concern of management was that the company continued losing market share in the digital segment. The company also changed the agency of record for its $155 million advertising account to Fallon Group Inc., saying H&R Block needed a different focus.

Source