H&R Block has named William C. Cobb, a former eBay executive, as its new president and CEO who will replace Alan Bennett, who is retiring in September. Meanwhile, the company said the number of returns it prepared for the tax season was up by 6.1 percent over the 2009 tax season, as the number of online tax returns increased. However, the overall growth lagged both rival chain, Liberty Tax, and sales of Intuit's TurboTax, which both rose by 11.1 percent for the same period.Cobb, who joined the Block board in August, will take over on May 16. He served as president of eBay's Marketplaces division and was also responsible for eBays affiliated businesses, StubHub and Rent.com. He also held executive positions at Pepsico and Yum Brands.
The company said that between Nov. 1, 2010 and April 18, it prepared 20.8 million returns, compared to 19.6 million last year. Retail returns reached 14.4 million, up 4 percent, while digital tax returns rose 12 percent to 6.4 million.
