IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR GROUPON - From left, Roger Jackson with Groupon talks with Richard Crone and Heidi Liebenguth with Crone Consulting in San Carlos, Calif., about Breadcrumb by Groupon at the National Restaurant Association Tradeshow at McCormick Place, on Sunday, May 19, 2013 in Chicago. Groupon highlights the company's marketing and Breadcrumb by Groupon point-of-sale and payments at the tradeshow.
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR GROUPON - Seth Harris, founder of Groupon's Breadcrumb point-of-sale system, talks with exhibitors at the National Restaurant Association Tradeshow at McCormick Place, on Sunday, May 19, 2013 in Chicago. Groupon highlights the company's marketing and Breadcrumb by Groupon point-of-sale and payments at the tradeshow.
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR GROUPON - Groupon booth is seen at the National Restaurant Association Tradeshow at McCormick Place, on Sunday, May 19, 2013 in Chicago. Groupon highlights the company's marketing and Breadcrumb by Groupon point-of-sale and payments at the tradeshow.
Ted Leonsis (L) and Eric Lefkofsky, Groupon co-CEOs, give an interview to CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, May 16, 2013.
Employees and guests of Groupon ring the opening bell in celebration of the company's IPO at the Nasdaq Market in New York in this November 4, 2011 file photo. Groupon Inc. reported better-then-expected quarterly revenue May 8, 2013, and shares of the world's largest daily deals company rose more than 10 percent.
Groupon Inc fired Andrew Mason as chief executive officer on Thursday, ousting a co-founder who captured headlines with his quirky style but failed to reverse a crumbling share price or stop a gradual erosion of its main daily deals business.
The leader in Internet daily deals launched a search for a new leader to turn the company around, the same day its stock slid 24 percent after a dismal quarterly results report.
In an unusually candid post-firing letter, Mason - known for his atypical sense of humor -confessed he was getting in the way of the company he co-founded just a few years ago, and had failed in his role as leader.
After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. If you're wondering why... you haven't been paying attention, Mason wrote in a memo addressed to the People of Groupon and made available to Reuters.
