eBay's early backer to leave board of directors

Slashdot It! eBay said that early venture capital backer and longtime board member Robert Kagle plans to step down as a director of the company at its next annual shareholder meeting. Kagle made one of his earliest investments in eBay of between $5 million and $7 million as a partner with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Benchmark Capital. The value of this investment multiplied many times over during the dot-com era and was worth upward of $5 billion at its peak. It is believed to be one of the most lucrative VC investments ever made, according to reports at the time. He notified the company on Tuesday that he would not go up for reelection at the stockholders meeting in June, but will continue to serve as a director until the meeting. The company said in a U.S. regulatory filing that Kagle was leaving solely for personal reasons and time considerations and his departure did not involve any disagreement with the company, the company's management, or the board of directors. He sits on the board of a variety of Silicon Valley start-ups, including Mint.com and Prosper. Kagle did not immediately reply to an e-mail requesting comment. In addition, eBay named Phillip DePaul as a vice president and its chief accounting officer, effective April 14. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post