Marc Andreessen steps down from eBay's board of directors ahead of split with PayPal

Tech entrepreneur and Silicon Valley venture capital investor Marc Andreessen has stepped down from the board of directors of e-commerce giant eBay ahead of its split with PayPal. Andreessen confirmed the news on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"It's been an absolute privilege to serve with John, Pierre, and the team, and I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished. I wish eBay, and both of its successor companies, all the best in the years to come and will seek to continue to help as much as I can," he tweeted.

Andreessen was associated with the company for the past six years after joining it back in 2008. The decision was taken on the backdrop of the board's decision to separate eBay and PayPal into independent, publicly traded companies.

In his tweets, Andreessen mentioned that it was the 'right time' to step down.

John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay Inc., said, "Andreessen has been an extraordinary board member, and we greatly appreciate the leadership, insight and expertise he has provided over the past six years. He has provided invaluable support to me, the board and the entire company."

eBay Inc. bowed down to investor's pressure to split into two by spinning out its payments unit PayPal earlier this month. While eBay will be run by the newly-appointed CEO Devin Wening, who is currently president (marketplace), PayPal will be headed by Dan Schulman, who joined eBay earlier this year.