eBay in Person: Judy Kirkpatrick

How long have you worked at eBay?
I joined eBay in July 2003.

What did you do before you worked at eBay?
Most recently, I was VP of Strategic Alliances at Palm, Inc. where we partnered with IBM to develop WebSphere applications and the first Java SDK for Palm PDAs. While at Fatbrain.com, (an online bookstore that catered to business and technical professionals) I was EVP and GM of MightyWords, Inc., the company's digital publishing spin-off. My software-marketing career began at Adobe where we launched Adobe Acrobat and created the PDF standard. I began my career as a sales executive with NBI, Inc. (Back in the days of dedicated word processing systems!)

Describe your area of responsibility.
I manage a growing team of global product managers who deliver innovative world-class products that support eBay's business priorities. In partnership with our business units, we translate business and community needs to product requirements, while providing thought leadership, community advocacy and scalability to our global product platform.

What are your top priorities?
We are focused on the scalability of our sellers, so that they can continue to grow their businesses to new levels. We are also focused on building solutions that drive new members to the site.  And we want to continue to develop solutions that maximize our opportunities internationally.  

What skills have you found yourself utilizing most in your career at eBay?
Being a good listener. Starting my career in sales, it was easy to see the importance of understanding your customer. At eBay, it's two-fold: Listening to the community and listening to our business partners. Then, once you've listened, deliver results!

What's your advice to someone just starting at eBay?
In that first week, take a few deep breaths! And, get a “buddy”. With the velocity of the environment, it's important to find someone who can help you navigate, ramp-up, and stay focused on what's important for your job. And, coming from Product, use the site! Don't just “buy” something, SELL something and become an advocate for the platform! I just got my turquoise star!

What has your experience been as an eBay user?
I've never had a listing on eBay “not sell”! I've sold everything from a key chain to two automobiles. And, my buyers have spanned the globe including Italy, Canada and the U.S. As an employee, we're required to link to eBay's employee trading policies in our listings. It's amazing how often a bidder will use “Ask Seller Question” just to tell me “how cool it must be to work at eBay!” I couldn't agree more!

What do you like to do for fun?
I'm not sure if it's for fun, or just for my sanity, but I'm a fitness fanatic. I swim with a Masters program and run with my kids, Jaimie, 5 and Cameron, 7, who are on their bikes! Besides fitness, I love a “good read”. My first purchase on eBay was a “mint condition, first edition” copy of Ken Follet's “The Pillars of the Earth”. My husband Andy is a baseball nut as is our son. This summer, we'll take a trip to the East Coast where we'll attend five MLB games in five different MLB stadiums in a week! The rest of the summer we'll spend at the Stanford University's Sunken Diamond Stadium!