This article originally appeared on the eBay Inc. blog.

By: Devin Wenig

The next chapter for eBay begins today. I’m honored and humbled to have the opportunity to lead our iconic business forward.

We are setting out on the next phase of a journey that began nearly two decades ago, and will continue well into the future.

eBay has a proud heritage as one of the world’s leading ecommerce and technology companies. We really have changed the world, and the spirit of innovation and sense of purpose is in the water here. 

Today we are building on our history but we are also embarking on a new beginning. This next chapter will be driven by our strengths and grounded in our deeply held Purpose of empowering people and creating opportunity through Connected Commerce. 

Millions of people rely on us every day – to fuel their businesses and sustain their families and communities.  We help level the economic playing field and break down barriers to trade for them.

eBay has always defined its own story, and we have only scratched the surface of the opportunity. We will expand our community, give our customers - buyers and sellers - the tools to achieve greater success and fuel their passions, while we grow our business. 

We are setting out from a strong base. With 800 million listings and $83 billion in Gross Merchandise Volume in 2014, eBay is one of the world’s largest and most vibrant marketplaces. We have a great leadership team that will take eBay into the future. All of us are excited about the opportunities ahead.

Focusing on our core means more innovation. Focusing means we apply all our energy and creativity in doing things differently, and better, for our community.

This includes some core planks of our strategy:

• A more robust commerce platform: We are using structured data to improve discoverability and user experience; grow and diversify our traffic sources; and invest in the reliability, security and stability of our platform

• A vibrant marketplace: We are bringing unique inventory across a great spectrum of value to engage new and existing buyers. And we are laser focused on attracting sellers who will bring this inventory to our site.

• Elevated product and brand experiences: We are creating beautiful, accessible and simplified multi-screen buying and selling experiences. Many of our new mobile experiences, such as our iPad and Apple Watch apps, show the path to come.

At heart, eBay is about people. It is about communities. I am lucky to lead a group of extraordinary employees who want to make a difference. eBay is also a diverse and passionate global community of 25 million sellers, and 157 million buyers operating in 200 markets. 

eBay is the schoolteacher in India who decided that, instead of taking a step back from her career after marriage, she would launch a whole new one, selling toys on our platform. In the process, she didn’t just create a job for herself, she created employment for four others.

eBay is the couple who started out selling pasta products and cheese from their home in southern Italy, and now run a global food business on eBay. 

eBay is the father in Utah who lost his job and his health in the space of a few years, and now cares for his son and sustains his family through his eBay business selling vintage clothing.

They are eBay. And when we work, create, compete and fight, we do it with people like them in mind.

We will move fast, innovate tirelessly, execute well and evolve fearlessly. 

Today represents the beginning of a new chapter, and a new opportunity for success for the entire eBay community.