Private Equity
One of my favorite lines this past season on NBC's "30 Rock" came from character Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin, who was told by nurse Elisa, played by Salma Hayek, that he should go see a doctor. "Thank you for telling me what I already know," he says. "You should work for The Huffington Post." With that one-liner in mind, I'd like to tell you all something that Huffington Post already knows: Eric Hippeau, managing partner of SoftBank Capital and former CEO of Ziff-Davis, will replace current HuffPo CEO Betsy Morgan as the company's new CEO, it was announced today.
2 min read · 16 June 2009
1 min read · 15 June 2009
1 min read · 12 June 2009
1 min read · 12 June 2009
Daniel von Preyss has joined Impax Asset Management as a managing director of private equity for a fund focused on renewable power generation. He previously ran Babcock & Brown’s Northern European infrastructure activities.
3 min read · 11 June 2009
1 min read · 08 June 2009
Chris Farmer has left Bessemer Venture Partners, where he had been a vice president focused on digital media and wireless companies. His board seats included Access 360 Media, Cecure Gaming and GoTV Media. No word yet on his future plans. www.bvp.com
1 min read · 05 June 2009
Seemingly overnight, early-stage investor Josh Kopelman has become something of a business celebrity. The attention stems partly from the fact that his venture firm, First Round Capital, continues to actively back young companies despite the recession. Partly, it owes to the several successful exits First Round has already enjoyed since opening just five years ago. Perhaps given Kopelman’s background as an entrepreneur -- he cofounded Infonautics Corp. (IPO in 1996), Half.com (bought by eBay for $312 million in stock in 2000) and TurnTide (sold for $28 million to Symantec six months after its founding) -- it’s no surprise that entrepreneurs uniformly speak highly of him, too. I caught up with Kopelman yesterday, as he commuted from New York to Philadelphia, near First Round’s West Conshohocken headquarters. Among other things, we talked about how the market looks, six months into 2009; why he helped buy back StumbleUpon from eBay; and whether or not it makes sense for entrepreneurs with no VC experience -- many of whom are now starting microcap venture vehicles like First Round’s earliest funds -- to break into the business.
7 min read · 04 June 2009
Frazier Healthcare Ventures has made four promotions: Brian Morfitt and David Kosloff to principal and Steven Tallman and Joseph Whitters to operating partners.
4 min read · 04 June 2009
Attorney Sarah Reed has rejoined Charles River Ventures, seventeen months after leaving to open a Boston office for venture/tech law firm Lowenstein Sandler, peHUB has learned. No word yet on Reed's new title at CRV, which does not yet list her on its revamped website (one which finally includes a distinction between active partners and partners "emeritus"). She had been the firm's general counsel but, as of last check, that role had been filled by former Monster Worldwide lawyer Lisa Bonner Haines. [Update: CRV spokeswoman says Reed will be general counsel, and that Haines as moved on to parts unknown] Also unclear is what this move means for Lowenstein Sandler in Boston. The firm no longer has any practicing attorneys in the city, and a source tells us that the 1 Bowdoin Square office will be shuttered. I put the question to a firm spokesman, who said that the firm was "assessing the strategic direction" of its Boston effort.
1 min read · 03 June 2009
