News Corp chief joins Epartners

News Corporation’s chief marketer Roger Fishman is quitting to become a partner in Epartners – the media giant’s e-commerce venture capital fund.

Fishman will move to London, and report to chief executive Mark Booth, former chief executive of BSkyB. Fishman has yet to be replaced.

Booth says: “Fishman’s extensive business and marketing expertise, and his imagination and strategic thinking in a new industry such as e-commerce will be invaluable to Epartners.”

Epartners is a $350m (&£219m) fund established by News Corporation in April last year to take equity stakes in new media companies with Internet, interactive TV and wireless communication interests.

So far, it has invested in ten companies including Buy.com, Medibuy.com and Eyestorm.com.

It also has a joint venture with Japanese Net group Softbank, called eVentures, which has the rights to launch Softbank affiliated properties in various countries.

eVentures has launched E-loan in the UK and Australia, and is about to launch Buy.com.

Epartners is also to manage a new $475m (&£297m) Softbank fund that will focus on wireless Net investments, primarily in the UK.