Q&A with Rajiv Dutta, Elevation Partners
Former eBay executive Rajiv Dutta today announced that he is joining media/consumer-focused private equity firm Elevation Partners. Dutta's most recent roles with eBay were as executive vice president and president of eBay Marketplaces, but he previously served as CFO and president of both PayPal and Skype. He also sits on the board of Elevation investment Palm. Expect Dutta to help Elevation raise a second fund sometimes next year... Q. Why join a private equity firm? Dutta: I had been at eBay for a really long time, and had run every operatating division of the company. They were great and wonderful businesses and fulfilling jobs. But as I thought about what I wanted to do next, I felt like I had checked those boxes. I've been part of a startup. I've been part of a rising star. I've been part of a European business. So I wanted to find something different that could still match what I'd been doing in terms of intellectual diversity, in terms of fun and in terms of great people. I spent the better part of a year trying to figure it out. I've known Fred Anderson for a long time, and have gotten to know the others. They have a view of private equity that is very different of what I'd considered private equity to be. They have an operational perspective that plays right into what I've been doing all my professional life.
