"Our team is very open and honest. Many leadership teams say that, but we actually live that value."
-Larry Illg, GM, Scandinavia
Our leadership team members are high achievers with international experience in diverse fields — from corporate strategy and finance to product management and human resources. Passionate, committed, creative and fun-loving, eBay Classifieds Group leaders drive the innovative spirit of our unique global brands.
Jacob Aqraou
Larry Illg
Pat Kolek
Aileen O'Toole
Bob van Dijk
Alessandro Coppo
Martin Tschopp
Jacob Aqraou
General Manager
June 3, 2002
March 1, 2005
Copenhagen
School cleaner
Confessions
Russian MiG fighter jet
: “He is an anarchist, a young Turk — and his taste for ’80s music and fruity drinks makes you wonder.”
“You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.” — Gen. Colin Powell
Prior to serving as General Manager of eBay Classifieds Group, Jacob led the eBay Strategy and Ventures Group. He identified future trends and developed company strategy while seeding and starting new ventures, including eBay's entry into the mobile field.
Jacob has also served as the Finance Director of eBay Europe and Vice President of Operations and Expansions for the Corporate New Business Venture Group. In that capacity he oversaw eight major deals, including the acquisitions of Skype and Shopping.com.
Before joining eBay, Jacob was a successful entrepreneur. He has also worked in M&A at an investment bank and was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Jacob is a graduate of Copenhagen Business School, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and a masters in finance and accounting. He holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.
Larry Illg
General Manager, Scandinavia
March 26, 2004
Hard to say, because I gradually moved over from eBay
Richmond, California
Liquor store clerk
Encounters
Furries
“Whatever the vice — drinking, gambling, swearing — he is bound to like it.”
“Where I grew up, ‘gun control’ meant you used two hands.”
Prior to his role as General Manager for Scandinavia, Larry worked with Jacob Aqraou on the Strategy and Ventures team,. Earlier in his career, he was a strategy consultant and worked for the Federal Reserve Board.
Larry is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA.
Pat Kolek
Operations
October 2004
December 2007
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Beer distributor
Motors
Wigs for sale in the styles of top celebrities
“Risk for Pat is defined as ordering a hamburger with onion rings instead of fries.”
“Drive it like you stole it.”
Prior to his role in Operations for eBay Classifieds Group, Pat worked with the Corporate M&A team. He was responsible for financial diligence and integration support for eBay acquisitions. Before joining eBay, Pat was Corporate Controller for Novellus Systems, a NASDAQ 100 company, and spent seven years at the New York and San Jose, California offices of Ernst & Young.
Pat holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Santa Clara University.
Aileen O'Toole
Human Resources
June 14, 2004
April 2007
Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland
Bean picker
Jobs
“Barge for sale, with moorings”
“She throws like a girl.”
“Drive it like you stole it.” — Pat Kolek, COO, eBay Classifieds Group
Prior to her role at eBay Classifieds Group, Aileen held various HR roles with Shopping.com, PayPal and eBay. Before joining eBay, she was responsible for European HR at Jabil Global Services and also spent three years at Telenor Group.
Aileen received a bachelor’s degree in history & politics and a master’s degree in business, both from University College Dublin.
Bob van Dijk
General Manager, Local Classifieds
July 4, 2004
From Day 1 of the Marktplaats acquisition
Amsterdam
Demolition man for a construction company
Motors
“Lake for sale, including small island” (I tried to buy it, but I wasn’t fast enough.)
“Cares deeply about people . . . in his own rough way.”
Live Hard
Prior to his role as General Manager of Local Classifieds, Bob was Managing Director of Marktplaats and eBay.nl. He started his eBay life as Finance and Strategy Manager for eBay Benelux. Bob spent the first five years of his career as a consultant for McKinsey. In 2000 he founded an online brokerage firm for derivatives in London, which he sold in 2003.
Bob received a master’s degree in economics and mathematics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and an MBA from INSEAD (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires).
Alessandro Coppo
General Manager, Marktplaats
August 30th, 2004
May 26th, 2009
Milan
Football player
Holiday Rentals
Original garbage from Naples
“Why do you always ask why?”
“Trust is the foundation of every deal. Never work with people you don't trust”
Alessandro joined eBay Italy in 2004 as head of category management and became country manager in October 2005. In his role as country manager, he led the Italian business through 5x growth and increased profitability from low double digits to 60%. In addition, he is a true revolutionary, seeing the potential of classifieds and adopting an innovative approach that resulted in eBay Italia building successful real estate and motors businesses.
Before eBay, Alessandro was at BCG where he focussed on consumer goods and the retail industry. He holds a bachelors degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Turin and a masters in Economics from Oxford. Alessandro is married with two daughters. He is a huge football fan and an avid skier.
Martin Tschopp
General Manager, mobile.de
June 30, 2003
Started working on classifieds strategy in 2003 and formally joined group in April 2007
Luzern, Switzerland
Bank back office clerk
Motors
Trabi
“It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." -Bruce Lee
Prior to Martin’s role as General Manager of mobile, he most recently was General Manager of Local Classifieds (Kijiji & Gumtree) in North America and APAC where he was responsible for websites in 12 countries. Previous roles at eBay included finance & strategy in Europe & U.S.
Martin is Swiss and holds a Masters degree in Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and an MBA from INSEAD, both with Distinction. Prior to eBay, Martin was a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company in Zurich and Bain & Company in San Francisco, where he also worked in Strategy & M&A for DHL Worldwide.
Fun Facts
Jacob Aqraou loves 80’s music and fruity drinks
Larry Illg started his career as a liquor store clerk
Pat Kolek’s colleagues say about him; “Risk for Pat is defined as ordering a hamburger with onion rings instead of fries”
Aileen O’Toole is passionate about careers, not only is she the global director of HR for ECG, but ‘jobs’ is her favorite category on classifieds sites.
Bob van Dijk once tried to purchase a lake that included a small island, but wasn’t quick enough to respond to the classifieds ad!
Alessandro puts a lot of emphasis on trust – it is the foundation of every deal.
