Hannes Blum, chief executive of Victoria-based AbeBooks.com, has resigned from the online book marketplace company.
In a short statement to the Times Colonist Friday, the company said Blum, a native of Germany, will leave at the end of May.
“We are sad to see Hannes go, and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. He will remain CEO until his departure,” the statement said.
There was no indication given if Blum was planning to leave the city or take on a new challenge in Victoria. He could not be reached for comment Friday and parent company Amazon said no interviews were being granted.
The announcement is seen as a blow to the company, which was founded in Victoria in 1995 by Rick and Vivian Pura and Keith and Cathy Waters. It is also being seen as a potential major loss to the tech sector as a whole.
“If we were to lose Hannes from the city it would definitely be a blow. He was dealing in a league not a lot of our CEOs get to deal in — Amazon on a global level,” said Dan Gunn, executive director of the Victoria Advanced Technology Council. “He came from a foreign market and brought a lot of skill and knowledge to the job. He arguably took AbeBooks from a medium-size local tech firm to an international concern that could be acquired and that’s not easy to do.”
Gunn said what may be more impressive is Blum maintained the Victoria office after Seattle-based Amazon bought AbeBooks in 2008 for an estimated $90 million to $120 million US.
“There had to be a lot of push and pull to just bring [AbeBooks] into the Amazon fold. The fact he maintained and grew the office is huge,” Gunn said.
AbeBooks has 135 employees — 100 based in Victoria and 35 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Gunn said Blum, who sat on the VIATeC board between 2004 and 2006, remains a big presence at the sector’s events.
“He is ingrained in the community, and losing his knowledge and experience and support would be a loss,” said Gunn. “Every single time I met with him, he impressed me. I left every meeting thinking I have to be better.”
Blum came to AbeBooks in 2001 when the company bought Germany-based online bookstore Justbooks.
In 2003, Blum took over as CEO when Hubert Burda Media of Germany bought the bulk of AbeBooks.
Blum then oversaw AbeBooks’ growth until Amazon bought it in 2008.
