Daily Deals Runner-Up BuyWithMe Hires Jim Crowley As CEO

After Groupon and LivingSocial, there’s a big drop to the third-largest daily deals site, but BuyWithMe is one of the companies vying for the spot.

In December, the New York-based startup hit a rough patch after losing its high-profile CEO Cheryl Rosner, formerly of TicketsNow and Expedia. It was also struggling to expand successfully beyond its first couple of markets and was looking to raise more cash.

Today, we’ve learned that it has filled the top seat, appointing Jim Crowley to the position of president and CEO.

Crowley was the former president and CEO of Turbine, the developer of the massively multiplayer online games “Lord of the Rings.” The company was acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment in April of 2010.

Lets see if this time this one will stick.

Crowley will have to work hard to match Groupon’s and LivingSocial’s pace, which have both been on a market expansion and fundraising rampage.

In a statement, Crowley said: “Group buying and social commerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. The marriage of social and group dynamics with technology is fundamentally transforming how consumers and local merchants meet, interact and transact.”

Prior to Turbine, Crowley served as COO of m-Qube and Network Plus.