2009/8/27 Anthony wikimail@inbox.org:
I agree that companies often misuse the term "partner" for people who aren't actually "partners" (although I can't think of an example, can you?).
Big banks often do it. I remember reading a news article about Goldman Sachs announcing its new batch of partners. They were all high ranking employees and, as far as know, remained so, just with a new title.
That said, Omidyar Network is an LLC. As a multi-member LLC, you can choose to run as a corporation, or as a partnership. Considering that Omidyar Network is basically a venture capital business, it most likely runs as a partnership, and not a corporation (for tax reasons). So if Omidyar Network is an LLC treated as a partnership, it has partners, and I highly doubt that it would list someone as a "partner" on its website unless that person was actually a partner.
That certainly sounds plausible.
It is relevant because if Halprin is a partner with Omidyar Network, LLC, and doesn't receive any guaranteed payments, then he isn't being paid by Omidyar Network, LLC to do any particular job.
He isn't sitting on the WMF board on behalf of Omidyar either way, so what different does it make?