Jorge Espinel, AOL's former global head of corporate strategy and M&A, has jumped to the venture capital firm run by his former boss.
Espinel has joined Velocity Interactive Group, which was founded by past AOL chairman and chief executive Jonathan Miller. Miller held the top job at AOL between 2002 and 2006, and worked with Espinel to build AOL's online advertising business through a series of acquisitions, including the 2004, $435 million purchase of Advertising.com. Espinel is also credited with negotiating the company's search deal with Google Inc., which included the search giant paying $1 billion for a 5% stake in AOL in 2006.
News of Espinel's appointment comes a day after reports that Miller would likely be j
oining Yahoo! Inc.'s board of directors as one of Carl Icahn's selected candidates. Under a
truce announced Monday between the activist investor and Yahoo!, Icahn won a seat on the Yahoo! board, with two additional seats to be filled by Icahn-approved candidates.
Espinel's arrival at Velocity could fuel further speculation that Miller's spot on the Yahoo! board could position him to move into the top job at Yahoo! should a deal with Microsoft Corp. come to pass. The thinking being that Espinel's M&A expertise could fill a void at Velocity should Miller take on added responsibility at Yahoo!.
Our colleague Mary Kathleen Flynn over at Technology Confidential spoke with Espinel. Click
here to hear what he had to say about VC exit opportunities in a dried up IPO market.
- Suzanne Stevens
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