The putsch at RedEnvelope
Updated
Here’s our update in today’s Merc (you’ll have to scroll down to second-half of the column) on the latest developments at San Francisco online retailer RedEnvelope.
Co-founder Scott Galloway has finally succeeded in his putsch. It has resulted in a decision by Sequoia’s Michael Moritz to not stand for re-election as chairman, though we’re told Moritz left voluntarily — so wasn’t quite forced out.
Galloway, who has been frustrated by the mediocre performance of RedEnvelope under its current management, tells us “it wasn’t a personal attack,” but said that Moritz’ departure is the “big news.” It opens the way for three new nominations to the board to make some more changes, possibly at the meeting later this month.
“If there’s one person who would make the most productive exit from the company, it would be the CEO,” Galloway tells us. He’s referring to Alison May. Read the story for more. Here’s our past coverage, which covers when we first started asking questions about a Sequoia-related deal that RedEnvelope made.
On the latest change, Galloway concludes: “I see it as a victory for all shareholders. It’s been a year and a half in the making. Bottom line? My goal was to reconfigure the board. That’s happened.”
Update: Galloway has recently increased (downloads file) his personal position by a sizeable amount. Thanks to Michael Brush for pointing this out. Interesting: Maybe the putsch has only just begun. Stay tuned…
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About the Author, Matt Marshall
Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.
