Andrew McKelvey | 'Monster' founder, 74

Andrew McKelvey, 74, the billionaire founder and former chief executive of Monster Worldwide Inc., died Thursday in New York after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

In 1967, Mr. McKelvey founded an advertising business called Telephone Marketing Program. Later known as TMP Worldwide, the company acquired the Monster Board and Online Career Center in 1995, and four years later the jobs-recruitment Web site Monster.com was launched to great success.

In 2003, TMP Worldwide became Monster Worldwide. The New York-based company reported 2007 revenue of $1.35 billion, employing 5,200 people across 36 countries.

Mr. McKelvey left the company in 2006 amid questions about his role in backdating employee stock options.

In January, he agreed to relinquish much of his voting stake in Monster and reached a monetary settlement with the company, federal prosecutors, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- AP