eBay's Chief Whitman to Retire

A decision about Whitman’s departure from the company, which she’s led since March 1998, could come within weeks, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. Having delegated more and more daily responsibilities to lieutenants and completing her succession planning, people familiar

As a result, John Donahoe, whom Whitman recruited in 2005 as president of eBay’s auction business unit, has surfaced as the top candidate to take her place, the WSJ reports.

The timing of Whitman’s retirement is of her own choosing, sources told the newspaper.

While an eBay spokesman declined to comment on the matter, Whitman’s departure, according to the Journal, would result in the loss of one of Silicon Valley’s highest-profile CEOs. Moreover, her leaving could come at a critical time for eBay. While the company’s auction business accounts for more than two-thirds of the company’s nearly $6 billion in annual revenue, it has experienced slowing growth rates for the last couple of years, and any efforts to reverse that slowdown may include drastic changes that could be more palatable under a new CEO, according to the Journal.