• by Tameka Kee , July 11, 2008

Former About.com President and CEO Scott Meyer has joined Warburg Pincus as Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR). The news comes just about a month after The New York Times Co. plucked Cella Irvine, Meyer's replacement, from Digitas. Meyer resigned in February, after three years at the helm of the online information portal.

His departure in the absence of an immediate successor sparked some industry speculation as to whether it was an amicable separation. Tech gossip blog Valleywag, for example, reported that Meyer was pushed out after his senior staff threatened to "revolt." Other insiders pointed to About's solid performance in the quarter prior to his resignation--revenues topped $30 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, up 27% from the previous year--as evidence that Meyer chose to leave on his own high note.

At New York-based Warburg, Meyer will focus on figuring out how to best spend millions of dollars as opposed to raking it in. "I'll be working within the Warburg Telecom, Media & Technology (TMT) group to develop investment theses and pursue opportunities in the Internet and digital media sectors," Meyer said. He will work alongside Mark Colodny and Justin Sadrian, both partners at the private equity firm.

Warburg currently has $35 billion under management, including investments in niche job board provider OnTarget Jobs, online automotive marketing tech and services firm The Cobalt Group and mobile app developer Vringo.