October 22, 2008, Redwood City, Calif. — Omidyar Network today announced an expanded leadership team, new investment professionals and additional investment areas within each of the organization’s two initiatives.

Joining Omidyar Network’s senior leadership team are Matt Halprin and Sal Giambanco. Halprin is a Partner at Omidyar Network and is leading the newly named Media, Markets and Transparency investment initiative. Halprin spent the last six years at eBay, Inc., where he was most recently Vice President of Global Trust and Safety. Prior to eBay, Halprin was a Partner and Vice President at The Boston Consulting Group. For more details on Halprin’s background, please visit this link.

Giambanco will also serve as a Partner at Omidyar Network, where he will lead the organization’s Human Capital and Human Resources functions. In this role, Giambanco will assemble a group of senior professionals that will help provide functional expertise and assistance to the organization’s portfolio companies. Giambanco was Vice President of Human Resources and Administration during his nine years at PayPal and eBay, Inc. Giambanco will formally begin work with Omidyar Network in January 2009. For more details on Giambanco’s background, please visit this link.

“Omidyar Network is excited to add Matt and Sal to the team, both of whom are distinguished in their respective fields,” said Matt Bannick, Managing Partner at Omidyar Network. “With an expanded leadership team and a growing stable of investment professionals, Omidyar Network can substantially increase the breadth and depth of the expertise available to our portfolio, accelerating both the scale and social impact of our investments.”

Investment Areas
Omidyar Network today also announced new investment areas across its two initiatives. Within the Access to Capital initiative, which aims to create economic opportunity for people in emerging markets, Omidyar Network will add a formalized effort around “emerging market ventures.” This area will support high-growth entrepreneurs that bring low-cost products and services to underserved populations. The goal of the investment area is to demonstrate the power of entrepreneurship and market-based solutions to create jobs and economic value, and to deliver products and services that improve the quality of life for the poor. Omidyar Network will continue its existing work in the Access to Capital initiative, including investments in microfinance, small-to-medium enterprise, and property rights.

Omidyar Network’s second initiative is Media, Markets and Transparency. This effort supports technologies that promote transparency, accountability and trust across media, markets, and government. Investment areas within this initiative include Omidyar Network’s existing work in social media, marketplaces and government transparency – as well as a new focus on “trust, reputation and identity.” This new investment area aims to establish trust in digital environments so that people can establish stronger connections, conduct commerce more effectively and make more informed decisions.

For a current list of investees across these initiatives, please visit this link.

New Hires
In addition to Halprin, Omidyar Network has added four investment professionals to work on the Media, Markets and Transparency initiative. These individuals offer an impressive set of experiences and skills that will benefit Omidyar Network’s portfolio companies in a variety of areas from management to finance. Each new member of the team will be responsible for identifying, securing and managing investments and grants. Recent hires include:

Stephen King joins Omidyar Network as Director, Investments. King is currently Director of the BBC World Service Trust. King brings deep experience in philanthropic media to his role at Omidyar Network. King led the BBC World Service Trust through a period of sustained growth, including building programs in more than 40 countries in the developing world. King helped establish the BBC World Service Trust’s international reputation as one of the largest and most successful organizations using media and communications to improve the lives of the world’s poor and promote better governance and transparency worldwide. King will be based in London and will formally start with Omidyar Network in January 2009.

Chris Bishko joins Omidyar Network as Director, Investments. During his 16 years as an investment banker with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bishko held a variety of positions across investment banking client coverage, equity capital markets and private equity investing. Bishko’s expertise spans a range of subsectors within the technology and financial services industries. For more information on Bishko, please visit this link.

Sophie Bromberg joins Omidyar Network as Director, Investments. Previously, Bromberg was a Senior Director in Global Trust & Safety at eBay, where she was responsible for the company’s global anti- counterfeiting efforts and site policies. Prior to eBay, Bromberg worked at The Boston Consulting Group, where she specialized in advising clients from the consumer goods and retail industries. Bromberg begins in November.

Stacy Donohue joins Omidyar Network as Director, Investments. Donohue spent the last nine years at HP in senior roles spanning strategic planning, corporate development, equity investments and acquisitions. Prior to HP, Donohue worked at The Boston Consulting Group, providing analysis and consulting for clients across multiple industries from healthcare to financial services. Donohue begins in November.

About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm committed to creating opportunity for individuals. Established by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network supports nonprofit and for-profit efforts that enable people around the world to improve their lives and make powerful contributions to their communities. Since 2004, Omidyar Network has funded a number of organizations in areas such as microfinance, social media, and government transparency. To learn more about Omidyar Network, please visit www.omidyar.net.