Omidyar Network Has New Leader, New Focus

Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, has selected Matthew J. Bannick to be managing partner of the Omidyar Network, reports The New York Times.

Mr. Bannick will be in charge of Mr. Omidyar’s personal charitable giving and his business investments in companies working for social change. He succeeds Iqbal Paroo.

Mr. Bannick says he plans to double the organization’s staff to about 60 employees and work to expand its project areas. The Times reports that influencing public policy will be high on the network’s list of priorities.

“We’re trying to engage whole systems and all of the actors participating in a system,” said Mr. Omidyar in a telephone interview with the newspaper, “whether nonprofit groups, for-profit businesses, government, or media, to increase the impact we have.”

In an interview with the San Francisco Gate, Mr. Omidyar discussed how public policy hinders some social-change efforts, such as microfinance.

The change comes amid complaints by some grant seekers that the Omidyar Network has suffered from administrative problems and been slow to respond to their requests, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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