Exclusive: Twitter’s VP Engineering Mike Abbott Departs

According to sources close to the situation, Twitter VP of Engineering Mike Abbott has left the company. He is apparently interested in doing more investing.
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Google Confirms That Groupon COO Will Be Google's Margo Georgiadis

Margo Georgiadis, VP of Global Sales Operations at Google, will be COO of Groupon, Google confirmed. She is currently located in Chicago, where the social buying site is headquartered. Besides COO, BoomTown will officially bestow the title of “Chief Cat Wrangler” on her in recognition of the massive organizational job ahead of her at the notoriously chaotic start-up.

News Byte

Groupon Hires One of Its Own Investors in Growth Spurt

Groupon is aggressively hiring–so much so, it has stolen away one of the partners from its own investors. David Thacker, an associate partner at Greylock Partners, is joining Groupon’s product management team in Palo Alto, according to an amicably worded blog post on Greylock’s site. Thacker led investments in Gowalla and 1000 Memories. While that’s one down, Groupon is still on the hunt for a new COO.

Wanted: Groupon COO. Must Like Cat-Wrangling, Lack of Spotlight and International Travel (Post-Samwer)

Of all the many job openings in tech, perhaps the most interesting to watch will be who Groupon selects as its next COO, after the recent announcement that it was parting ways with President and COO Rob Solomon. Requirements for running the Chicago-based social buying site: epic cat-wrangling of thousands of employees in far-flung locations; deep marketing and advertising prowess; high-level technology, product, mobile and e-commerce chops; and international experience. Also, please stand in the shadows.

Yahoo Marketing VP Shane Steele Joins Twitter

Shane Steele, previously VP of global marketing for Yahoo, started at Twitter today as director of sales marketing.

Yet Another Googler to AOL: Sales Exec John Burke

You’d think that nearly two years after Tim Armstrong jumped from Google to AOL, he’d be done bringing former coworkers to his new gig. But you’d be wrong!

Groupon Continues to Suck Silicon Valley Talent to Chicago–This Time From Google

Groupon is close to hiring yet another top executive from the Bay Area, a move that would be the latest in a string of high-profile hires for the Chicago-based company. This time, the social buying site is targeting Jason Harinstein, who is Google’s director of corporate development. Wait, here’s an update: Got him.

PayPal Hires VP of Global Design From Apple

PayPal has hired Sarah Brody, a seven-year veteran of Apple, to the position of VP of Global design.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo on Platforms, Reliability and Independence at D@CES

Twitter has crossed the threshold from Web novelty into something substantial. Now Dick Costolo’s job is to turn it into a business–one big enough to justify the sky-high valuation investors have given the messaging company.

News Byte

Zynga, Playdom Agree to Play Nice

Last September, social games player Zynga took rival Playdom to LawsuitVille, alleging that some of its trade secrets made their way into Playdom’s hands with the hiring of four ex-Zynga employees. Months of legal unpleasantness followed, but in July, Playdom was bought by Disney, and The Mouse can’t be bothered with loose bits of litigation. So, as of today, hostilities have ended with a settlement. No details, but Zynga says it’s “extremely pleased.”

What's Apple Building in There?

What’s Apple Building in There?