6:30 p.m. | Updated

Groupon confirmed late Thursday that it had hired Margo Georgiadis, a vice president of global sales operations at Google, to be its new chief operating officer.

The appointment comes as Groupon, a daily deal site based in Chicago, is said to be nearing a public offering later this year. It spurned a $6 billion bid from Google in December.

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Ms. Georgiadis, a Chicago resident and former McKinsey Company partner, will replace Robert Solomon, who abruptly announced his resignation last month. She will oversee Groupon’s global sales, marketing and operations.

“Margo is a strong leader with a passion for helping small business owners and consumers,” Andrew Mason, Groupon’s chief executive, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to have her on our team.”

The appointment was first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business earlier Thursday.

At Google, Ms. Georgiadis was responsible for sales-related technology and operations and the company’s commerce and local sales efforts.

“I’m grateful for all that Margo has done for our team over the past two years,” Nikesh Arora, Google’s chief business officer, said in a statement to DealBook on Thursday. “We will miss her, but we’re also very excited that she’s joining a terrific company and a great partner for Google.”

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