Dive Brief:

• LivingSocial named Gautam Thakar as the company's new CEO Tuesday. 
• Thakar is currently the CEO of Shopping.com and the general manager of eBay's advertising business, and will begin work at LivingSocial next month. Shopping.com was acquired by eBay in 2005. 
• The e-commerce deals company has been looking for a new chief executive to replace current CEO and co-founder Tim O'Shaughnessy since January. 

Dive Insight:

Gautam Thakar's unique experience in both advertising and e-commerce may help struggling LivingSocial balance the multiple roles its daily deal business takes on. While customers use the site primarily for e-commerce, advertisers see it more as of a marketing opportunity for businesses. 

Perhaps this experience can help LivingSocial as it continues to face declining demand for its business model. Thakar's challenge will be to help the e-commerce site regain the growth and profitability it experienced in its start-up glory days.