About Laurence “Lo” Toney

Laurence Toney is the Vice President of Marketplace Operations with art.com. He is responsible for the operations and execution of online initiatives to bridge the world of emerging artists with the world’s art consumers. Laurence leads the development of the marketplace for artists and consumers to interact, share ideas and buy and sell original works from around the world.

Before art.com, Laurence was the Director and General Manager of eBay’s Collectibles Business Unit (CBU) where he managed the P&L and team for $3 billion in annual transactions, which was more than 12% of the U.S. transaction volume of the eBay marketplace. During his tenure, the year over year percentage growth in transactions for the CBU returned to double digits (based on Q1 annualized for 2005 and 2006). Laurence’s first position with eBay was with the Business & Industrial Business Unit where he led the development of eBay’s original B2B product strategy.

Prior to eBay, Laurence was the Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) with Opportunity Capital Partners (OCP). As EIR, Laurence evaluated investment opportunities and advised existing portfolio companies on strategy and business development. He became an EIR after the acquisition of NetAbacus, an OCP portfolio company he co-founded, which provided small businesses with a web-based procurement tool.

Before co-founding NetAbacus, Laurence managed PwC’s San Francisco Emerging Company Services practice where he helped technology companies develop their business plans, raise venture capital and build relationships with strategic partners. Laurence began his career in the financial services industry doing institutional money management and corporate development. He received his M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business (University of California at Berkeley) where he completed the Management of Technology program – a joint curriculum program with the College of Engineering. Laurence received his B.S. from Hampton University in Virginia.