EBay Executive Linked to Alleged Cyberstalk Is Kids Club CEO

(Bloomberg) -- Former EBay Inc. communications chief Steven Wymer, who left the company last year after being linked to an alleged cyberstalking scheme, has a new job: chief executive officer of the Silicon Valley Boys & Girls Club.

Wymer, who hasn’t been charged with a crime, was EBay’s public-relations chief for about nine months in 2019, when several employees allegedly harassed a Massachusetts couple whose newsletter published unflattering articles about the company. The alleged cyberstalking campaign included sending the couple live cockroaches, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig Halloween mask and a book on surviving the death of a spouse. Federal prosecutors allege former EBay employees James Baugh and David Harville led the elaborate campaign. Other former EBay employees were also charged.

Wymer was “Executive 2” in the federal indictment, Bloomberg reported previously, citing two people familiar with the matter. “Executive 2” allegedly texted former EBay CEO Devin Wenig last year to say, “We are going to crush this lady” after the newsletter published a story about Wenig’s compensation, according to the indictment.

Wymer declined to comment. In a LinkedIn post, he said he was “grateful for the faith placed in me by the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley and honored to jump into this important work at this critical time.”

The nonprofit organization is “aware of the situation regarding Steve’s former employer,” Kathy Hevland, who chairs the club’s board, said in a statement. The board voted unanimously to hire Wymer following a months-long search, she said.

“In addition to the unanimous support of our Board, a variety of respected community leaders and partners who care deeply about our organization and align with our values strongly endorsed Steve’s appointment to lead the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley,” she said.

Before joining EBay, Wymer held communications posts at social media platform Nextdoor.com Inc. and Tivo Inc. Before that, he held press relations roles for U.S. senators in Nebraska and Colorado and briefly worked with the State Department managing relations with several African nations, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Following the June indictment, EBay said it “terminated all involved employees, including the company’s former chief communications officer, in September 2019.” Wymer held the title and left EBay at that time.

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