Current eBay board member Bob Swan has joined venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as a Growth Operating Partner. Swan served as Chief Financial Officer of eBay for nine years.
Swan left eBay after the company was unsuccessful in fending off activist investor Carl Icahn, resulting in the breakup of eBay and PayPal in 2015 – though Swan remained on the Board of Directors.
In a bit of déjà vu, Swan stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Intel earlier this year following pressure from activist investor Dan Loeb’s Third Point hedge fund, which was pressuring Intel’s board to explore “strategic alternatives,” according to CNBC.
In his latest role, Swan will help identify and pursue new investments, serve on boards, and provide guidance and expertise to founders in the venture capital firm’s portfolio.
Andreessen Horowitz, also referred to as “a16z,” is named for cofounders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, where they remain general partners in the firm.
Andreessen had served on eBay’s board with Bob Swan for 6 years before leaving the company after Carl Icahn accused Andreessen of costing eBay shareholders $4 billion for his own personal profit in a controversy involving Skype, according to Business Insider.
Andreessen currently serves on the board of a number of companies, including Facebook.
In a post announcing Swan’s appointment on the Andreessen Horowitz website, the company wrote, “As CEO of one of the largest B2B companies in the world, and CFO/board member of one of the most important internet marketplaces and fintech companies in the world, Bob (Swan) will be an invaluable partner to us and our portfolio companies.”
