Groupon Inc. GRPN is changing up its leadership, with Dusan Senkypl, the co-founder of Pale Fire Capital and a member of Groupon’s board, taking on the role of interim chief executive effective immediately. He replaces Kedar Deshpande, who has stepped down from his CEO and director posts but plans to advise the company for 60 days to help with its transition. “Since he joined the Board, Dusan has been very engaged as a director, providing important oversight on Groupon’s strategy and strengths and helping the company identify areas in need of improvement,” Chairman Ted Leonsis said in a Friday morning release. “Given this, we believe that he will seamlessly transition into this new leadership role and help the company execute against and continue to refine the supply-led transformation strategy we announced during our fourth quarter earnings call.” Groupon shares were ahead more than 6% in premarket trading Friday. The stock has tumbled 61% so far this year as the S&P 500 SPX has advanced more than 5%.
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