Toby Coppel, who left as Yahoo’s Europe and Canada MD in November 2008, is joining Richard Branson-backed private equity eco firm Virgin Green Fund as a partner, based in London.
Previously known as Virgin Fuels, the firm has previously invested $130 million in two corn-ethanol companies. Succeeded in 2007, it aims to fund cleantech investments of all kinds; Virgin has previously invested $100 million in it.
Coppel has been on the board of carbon footprint measuring site AMEE since last year. VGF says he has “broad experience investing in the cleantech sector”. In fact, it estimates he was responsible for $5 billion in acquisitions whilst at Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), including Alibaba ($1 billion) and Overture ($1.7 billion).
Coppel was also launched Yahoo’s Green site, VGF says. He was an investing at Windsor Media and Allen & Co. before Yahoo.