Brian McAndrews Lands at Seattle VC Firm

Brian McAndrews, who as CEO of aQuantive helped engineer that company’s acquisitive growth strategy and its eventual sale to Microsoft, has joined venture capital firm Madrona Ventures Group as managing director.

In the role, McAndrews will help foster tech and online ad startups in the Pacific Northwest with cash drawn from a recently created $250 million fund. Seattle-based Madrona was an early investor in aQuantive; its other portfolio companies have included Amazon.com, Farecast.com (sold to Microsoft), and ShareBuilder.com.

Among McAndrews’ accomplishments at aQuantive include the company’s initial public offering of stock, the launch of its Atlas ad technology unit and its DRIVEpm ad network, and the acquisition of Razorfish from SBI and many other ad agencies globally. Among its recent deals it has completed was an investment in Yieldex, a provider of publisher tools for ad inventory management.

Last week, the firm completed an investment in an unidentified startup in the virtual goods arena. In all, it does between four to six deals a year.

“We’re not a super-active investor, but it’s enough for our strategy, which is Pacific-Northwest, early-stage companies,” said a spokesperson.