Ebay UK promotes CMO to general manager role

Ebay UK has promoted CMO Eve Williams to the role of vice president and general manager.

Williams joined the business as UK CMO in 2020. Before that, she spent seven years at Asos, latterly as global brand and customer experience director. She was also named as part of Marketing Week’s Top 100 for her work at Ebay in 2022.

Ebay senior vice president for global markets, Jordan Sweetnam says Williams’ experience makes her a great fit for general management.

“She is the ideal candidate for the job, bringing a wealth of cross-functional experience to the UK leadership role, including as UK CMO where she transformed the way we understand and engage British customers,” he says.

He also credits her with “incredible” campaigns. These campaigns include a new brand platform ‘The Ebay Way’ launched last year, which aims to shine a light on its diverse customers.

Last year also saw Ebay become Love Island’s first pre-loved fashion sponsor, in a partnership the brand says resulted in a 700% increase in searches for ‘pre-loved fashion’ on its site.

KFC’s Meg Farren: Marketing is a ‘brilliant training ground’ to lead a business

Before her time working in ecommerce, Williams worked at marketing content agency Cedar Communications, where she was managing director. She has also been a committee member of the IPA’s effectiveness leadership group since March 2022.

“Coming from a marketing background, my focus will always be delivering for our customers,” she wrote on LinkedIn, sharing the news of her promotion.

She signalled an emphasis on the brand’s sustainability credentials will be a central focus as she takes on her new general management role.

“I feel incredibly privileged to step up to this role at an incredibly exciting moment in eBay’s 28 year history,” Williams said.

“As UK shoppers think much more about the environmental impact of how and what they buy, we are uniquely positioned to offer a smarter, more sustainable place to shop.”

She succeeds Murray Lambell, who has been promoted to global lead of the home, garden and refurbished categories. He had been in the role since September 2020. Before being promoted to the general manager role, Lambell had served as vice president, UK trading.

Williams praised her predecessor for how he had “propelled the business forward in this ever-changing retail environment”.

It is not known who will replace Williams in the UK CMO position. Ebay did not reply to a request for comment before publication.

It is not the only business  to promote a former marketing leader to a general management position in the past year. In September, former KFC UK and Ireland CMO Meg Farren returned to the business as general manager. Speaking to Marketing Week earlier this month, she described marketing as a “brilliant training ground” to lead a business.