Jamie Iannone arrived at eBay in April 2020 with a plan already written down. Before taking over as president and CEO of the online marketplace, he drafted a 10-page white paper for the board of directors laying out his ideas for reviving a company that was then under pressure from an activist investor. But rather than rolling out the strategy immediately, Iannone first sat down with every top leader in the company and asked each of them three questions: What three things need to change at eBay? What three things need to stay the same? And what did they hope he would do as CEO?
Those conversations, Iannone has said, gave him a deep understanding of how to carry out his strategic plan while also evolving eBay's culture. His conclusion was straightforward: the answers are usually already inside the organization. «If you can find it inside them, most companies have the answer,» he said of finding the best path forward.
That appetite for input extends well beyond the executive suite. Iannone recalls sitting next to two handbag sellers at a dinner a few years ago and hearing them describe how constrained they felt by eBay's limit on listing photos, which stood at 12 images at the time. Sellers of vintage bags told him that potential buyers wanted to inspect every zipper, closure, and lining before committing to a purchase. His team worked out how to expand photo capacity without dramatically increasing costs, and at a subsequent eBay user conference Iannone announced that the limit would rise to 24 images. «If you listen to your community, they'll have all kinds of good ideas for what you need to do in this business,» he said.
The company's operating logic is that satisfied buyers and sellers generate more activity on the platform, which in turn fuels growth. eBay says word of mouth remains its single biggest source of new business. That same feedback-driven ethos has shaped several changes and new features designed to strengthen trust on the marketplace, including postsale authentication services. Earlier this month, the company said it would prohibit the sale of auto airbags and airbag inflators following reports of deaths involving counterfeit parts installed in used cars.
eBay has also benefited from a broader surge of interest in secondhand shopping. Earlier this year the company completed its acquisition of the secondhand fashion site Depop. According to research from ThredUp, an online consignment site, the global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach nearly $300 billion this year, more than double the $141 billion in sales recorded in 2021.
The results have been visible to investors. eBay's share price has nearly tripled since Iannone became chief executive, and the stock is up more than 20% this year, outperforming the broader market. Earlier this year, in a show of support for Iannone's strategy, the eBay board voted to reject an unsolicited takeover offer from GameStop.
Iannone frames his openness to criticism as a deliberate leadership choice rather than a natural temperament. Asked how he avoids the defensiveness that many executives display when questioned, he described feedback as something to be welcomed. «It's my philosophy that feedback really is a gift,» he said. «If people are super nice to me because I'm the CEO, and they didn't tell me things, we'd be a much worse company, and I'd be much less effective as a leader.»
He also offered a practical habit for other leaders. Iannone said he ends most meetings with employees, regardless of the person's seniority, by asking a single question: «What's your advice for me?» The routine turns ordinary encounters into a steady stream of input, and it reflects the same principle that guided his first weeks at eBay — that the people closest to the work, and the customers closest to the products, often hold the clearest view of what should change next.