aQuantive Loses CEO McAndrews to Madrona Venture Group

aQuantive, now called Microsoft Advertising, has lost its CEO Brian McAndrews to Seattle’s Madrona Venture Group. Madrona brought on McAndrews as a managing director.

McAndrews built up aQuantive and led it through 15 acquisitions, before selling it to Microsoft for $6 billion in 2007. He was senior vice president of Microsoft’s Advertising & Publisher Solutions group before quitting this January.

McAndrews joined aQuantive from ABC Sports, where he was executive vice president and general manager. He serves on the boards of Clearwire, Fisher Communications, WhitePages.com.

Microsoft Advertising is the parent company of a group of three digital marketing service & technology companies: Avenue A/Razorfish, Atlas Solutions, and DRIVE Performance Solutions. Based in Seattle, Washington, the company was founded as aQuantive in 1997. aQuantive now forms part of Microsoft’s newly created Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group.