NVCA Today

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) named Kate Mitchell, co-founder and managing partner of Scale Venture Partners, as its 2010-2011 chairman of the board of directors. The appointment came during the 2010 NVCA Annual Meeting in Burlingame, CA on May 5th where more than 700 venture capitalists gathered for the Association’s national event.

Ms. Mitchell follows Terry McGuire of Polaris Ventures, who completed his one year term as 2009-2010 chairman. During his tenure, Mr. McGuire led the NVCA through the aftermath of the financial crisis and several major reform efforts on Capitol Hill including health care and financial reform. Last year Mr. McGuire testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the need to exempt the venture capital industry from SEC registration, a proposal that was accepted in both the House and the Senate bills. He has also played a strong leadership role in warning against the dangers of carried interest tax changes for the venture capital industry and the importance of innovation within life sciences public policy.

“This past year has been characterized by a robust public policy agenda which at times demanded quick and decisive action by the NVCA to ensure that lawmakers and regulators understood the unique attributes of venture capital investment and the importance of supporting the asset class through the economic recovery,” said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. “Terry McGuire provided outstanding leadership during this period, selflessly offering his time and vision to advance the goals of the venture capital industry and the companies in which we invest. It has been our privilege to work with him and we thank him for his tremendous service.”

Assuming the role of NVCA chair will be Kate Mitchell who has been an NVCA board member since 2007, serving on the government affairs committee and chairing the 2009 NVCA annual meeting in Boston.

“Over Kate’s 25 year career, she has been a steadfast advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation, bringing a tremendous amount of energy and expertise to every aspect of her work,” said Heesen. “During her NVCA Board tenure, Kate has been a highly effective voice for the industry, consistently sharing the venture capital value proposition with the public and on Capitol Hill. We are looking forward to channeling Kate’s commitment and vision into important priorities for the venture industry in the coming year.”

“The venture capital industry and the startup companies it funds are engines for job growth, which is particularly critical in these challenging economic times,” said Kate Mitchell. “Over the last 40 years, companies funded by venture capital have helped to build entirely new industries like biotechnology, the Internet and now clean technology. Over this next year, we will be working with policymakers to sustain an environment where the venture industry and small, innovative companies can thrive.”

Paul Maeder of Highland Capital Partners was named the chairman-elect for 2011-2012.

About Kate Mitchell
Kate is a co-founder and Managing Director of Scale Venture Partners, a venture capital fund with more than $900 million under management located in Silicon Valley, California (www.scalevp.com). Kate leads investments in software and business services. She has more than 25 years of experience in technology, business development, finance and management. She has actively worked with successful portfolio companies such as Hubspan, Jaspersoft, mBlox, and Wayport. Kate is also a member of the SVB Financial Group Board of Directors (NASDAQ: SIVB).  Kate holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from the Executive Program at Golden Gate University. She also attended the Harvard Executive Program for Strategic Marketing. Kate is a Charter Member of Environmental Entrepreneurs and a Board member of the Friends of the SF Public Library.

NVCA Elects Five Venture Capitalists To Join NVCA Board

On May 5^th at the NVCA Annual Meeting, the Association elected five new board members. These members were nominated and voted upon by the full NVCA membership to complete a four-year term. The incoming board members are Bruce Evans, Summit Partners; Norm Fogelsong, Institutional Venture Partners; Robert Nelsen, ARCH Venture Partners; Scott Sandell, New Enterprise Associates; and Theresia Gouw Ranzetta, Accel Partners. Standing board member Diana Frazier of FLAG Capital Management was also re-elected to a four-year term

In addition to Terry McGuire, outgoing Chairman, retiring from the NVCA board of directors after successfully completing their terms were Keith Crandell, ARCH Venture Partners; Barbara Dalton, Pfizer; John Jaggers, Sevin Rosen Funds; and Robert Kibble, Mission Ventures.

“The retiring cohort of NVCA board members has made a significant contribution to the venture capital industry and their support has been invaluable to the Association,” said Heesen. “The NVCA is fortunate to have an excellent freshman class of Board members ready to engage on behalf of the membership as we continue to tell the venture capital story and highlight the unique benefits of this asset class to the US economy.”