Accel Partners is making a big talent announcement today, with former Groupon COO and Yahoo exec Rob Solomon joining the firm as a venture partner.
Solomon last served as Accel-backed Groupon’s President and COO. As AllThingsD reported, Solomon left the deals company in 2011.
Prior to his time at Groupon, Solomon was a venture partner at Technology Crossover Ventures, which he joined after selling travel search engine SideStep to Kayak for $200 million. Before the Kayak sale, Solomon was the VP of Yahoo Shopping and a member of the company’s executive management team. Solomon also sits on the board of directors for HomeAway, and HighGear Media (backed by Accel Partners and Greylock). He’s also been an active angel investor, investing in Trippy and a number of other startups.
As Venture Partner, Solomon will be evaluating early stage and growth equity opportunities with Accel. He will also advise the firm’s portfolio companies on a wide range of strategic and operational issues like product management, scaling infrastructure, business operations, and mergers and acquisitions. Clearly Solomon’s experience as an entrepreneur, executive and investor should help Accel’s portfolio companies.