BuyWithMe gets a new CEO

Former Turbine CEO Jim Crowley joins BuyWithMe

Groupon clone BuyWithMe, which is tied with Tippr as the fourth most popular daily deal site in the U.S., has a new CEO: Jim Crowley.  The announcement comes a month after BuyWithMe’s former CEO, Cheryl Rosner, stepped down, leaving chief product officer David Wolfe to act as interim CEO until a permanent one could be found.  Wolfe claimed that Rosner’s decision to step down was a mutual one.

Crowley was formerly the CEO of online gaming company Turbine and was brought onboard for his experience in scaling rapid growth organizations as well as his knowledge of direct-to-consumer and business-to-business companies. 

 “The company is experiencing tremendous growth and Jim’s operational expertise, experience managing rapid growth and his ability to forge strong relationships will be key to scaling the company,” said Jeffrey Glass, managing director of Bain Capital Ventures, in a prepared statement.  Glass is on BuyWithMe’s board of advisors.

As CEO of Turbine, Crowley oversaw the company’s metamorphosis from a traditional retail-based game company to an online entertainment-as-a-service company.  Warner Brothers acquired Turbine in April 2010.  Prior to his role as CEO for Turbine, Crowley was the chief operating officer for m-Qube and Network Plus.

“Group buying and social commerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today,” said Crowley in the company’s announcement. “The marriage of social and group dynamics with technology is fundamentally transforming how consumers and local merchants meet, interact and transact. With its national footprint, leading technology platform and expertise in understanding consumer behavior, BuyWithMe is uniquely positioned to be an industry leader.”

BuyWithMe was founded in March 2009 and has raised a total of $21.5 million from Matrix Partners and Bain Capital Ventures.  In July, the New York-based company raised a whopping $16 million, which was used to expand BuyWithMe’s reach to more than two dozen cities throughout the United States.  Earlier this year, the company operated in only five markets, but today it has footholds in 11.

But while Groupon and LivingSocial have skyrocketed over the last year, BuyWithMe flatlined.  Cheryl Rosner stepped down after only eight months as CEO of BuyWithMe.  Rosner was formerly the president of Expedia and CEO of TicketsNow, which sold to TicketMaster in 2008.

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