eBay Appoints Eve Williams as VP and GM for Its UK Business — But How Long Will She Stay in This Role?

There seems to have been somewhat of a revolving door at the top management spot at eBay UK. This week, the company announced that Eve Williams is taking over the role of Vice President, General Manager of its UK business.

Over the past six years, she now becomes the third person to head eBay UK, after Rob Hattrell and Murray Lambell led the British division previously.

Hattrell left eBay surprisingly last year, after initially taking over the UK top job in 2017 and then moving on to lead all the company’s European markets in late 2020.

Lambell replaced Hattrell and now will take on the role of Global General Manager of the Home, Garden & Refurbished categories based at eBay’s European headquarters in Bern, Switzerland.

eBay UK is the second-largest market for eBay after the United States. It also continues to lead by a significant margin over all other marketplaces in the UK, except for Amazon.

It should be a plum assignment within eBay, yet it seems to have become a stepping stone recently.

Eve Williams is relatively new to eBay, as she joined the company in December 2020, as its UK Chief Marketing Officer. She has made a name for herself overseeing high-profile campaigns like eBay’s pre-loved fashion partnership with Love Island (renewed in January) and the revival of MTV’s iconic Pimp my Ride series.

Williams was also instrumental in launching a new brand platform in the UK called ‘The eBay Way,’ also leaning into recommerce by showcasing the company’s ambition to provide a better way to buy and sell sustainably.

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

“In the UK, millions of people use our platform to buy and sell everyday, while hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the country use eBay to reach millions of customers across all our key categories whether that’s car parts & accessories, homewares, preloved fashion or refurbished tech.

“Coming from a marketing background, my focus will always be delivering for our customers.

“We have a brilliant opportunity to ensure eBay continues to be the brand that enables UK households to shop in a way that’s better for the planet across our key categories, with a focus on providing value and supporting communities.”

Making the announcement, Jordan Sweetnam, Senior Vice President for Global Markets at eBay said, “I am delighted to announce Eve’s well deserved promotion to lead our UK business, representing our second-largest global market.”

“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.”

Eve Williams Rapidly Rising Through the eBay Ranks

Williams’ impact on the UK business has definitely been seen through these high-profile launches. Her new role should allow her to expand on her strengths to market and grow the brand in the UK.

But with her early and quick success at eBay UK, she seems destined to follow the rapid rise of Hattrell within the organization, which could mean her time leading eBay UK may be limited as well.

It wouldn’t be a big surprise if Williams is given more responsibility at eBay within the next two years. And that would mean another new country manager for the UK.

Richard Meldner

Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.

To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.