Ceo, Groupon | featured news

Andrew Mason isn’t leaving Groupon empty handed... One thing is crystal clear already: Mason has a tidy nest egg — roughly $260 million — to spend on whatever tropical island he may hit to nurse his wounds, or to splurge on the fat camp he referenced in a letter to employees.

Struggling online deals pioneer Groupon has ousted its quirky founder and CEO Andrew Mason amid worries that people are tiring of the myriad of online restaurant, spa and Botox deals that Groupon built its business on.

Let's get one thing straight: It wasn't Andrew Mason's personality that got him fired as CEO of Groupon today. If the local discounts service were doing well -- and not taking one body blow after another from a Wall Street disappointed with its results and skeptical of its promise -- he would have a job tomorrow morning, and for a long time to come. Mason's penchant for antic behavior that highlighted his immaturity and called into question his seriousness as a leader didn't cause that.

Groupon Inc sold more than 650,000 holiday deals between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, an increase of 500 percent compared with last year, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason said in a blog post on Wednesday.