Sapphire Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital company that invests in growth-stage technology companies, early-stage venture funds globally. For more than two decades, Sapphire has been investing capital, resources and expertise in innovative startups and technology-focused venture funds around the world. 

Venture Capital

Sapphire Ventures

David leads the Infrastructure & DevOps Center of Excellence for the Sapphire Portfolio Growth team. In this role, he supports the technical leaders (VPEs, CTOs) in Sapphire’s portfolio, helping them to scale both their organizations and architectures through strategy guidance, peer learnings, playbooks, partner connectivity and other value-add services.

He joined Sapphire from JP Morgan Chase, where he led DevOps strategy for the Global Technology organization – a role focused on maintaining the pulse of cloud and DevOps industry trends, partnering closely with startups, facilitating PoCs and evaluations, and developing emerging tech adoption strategies. Prior to corporate strategy, he worked as a network engineer with a focus on L4-L7 services (proxies, web app firewalls, etc). Before JPMC, he developed web-based ERP systems in the manufacturing industry.

David graduated from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona with a degree in Management Information Systems.

David Carter

Ashley is General Counsel at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), where she focuses on corporate transactions and governance. Ashley began her legal career as a corporate associate at Kirkland and Ellis where she represented private equity funds in mergers and acquisitions and growth capital investments. Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2019, Ashley worked in-house at a late stage FinTech company in the Bay Area.

Ashley holds a JD from the [University of Southern California](/org/university-of-southern-california) and a bachelor’s from UCLA in Political Science, where she was a team captain of the cross country and track and field teams.

Ashley Caldwell

Cristina Hohlman is responsible for the Firm’s financial functions including accounting, tax, and valuation. Prior to joining Sapphire Ventures, she spent over 12 years as VP of Finance at Deerfield Management, a $14 billion hybrid investment firm with venture capital, private equity, and public funds.  During a time of significant growth at Deerfield, she focused on scaling the finance function to properly support all facets of the business, developed key relationships with third parties and oversaw all financial aspects of the Firm’s investment funds. Cristina began her career at Grant Thornton as an auditor in the financial services practice.  Cristina has a B.S. in Accounting from Penn State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Cristina Hohlman

Abhishek Lahoti

Madeleine McLaughlin join Sapphire Ventures as San Francisco Office Manager and Exceutive Assistant to Sapphire Chief Marketing Officer Ellie Javadi. Madeleine previously worked in Marketing at CIVIC Financial Services and is a Bay Area native. She recently moved back to San Francisco after living in Los Angeles for 10 years. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Whittier College.

Madeleine Mclaughlin

Dave joins Sapphire as a Venture Partner, both investing in and advising enterprise software companies, reinforcing our stated mission of partnering with and helping build companies of consequence.

Dave has an impressive track record of helping scale enterprise software companies in go-to-market leadership roles. He joins us most recently from Auth0, a Sapphire portfolio company that certainly adheres to the ’company of consequence’ moniker. As Chief Revenue Officer of Auth0, Dave oversaw all go-to-market from less than $1M ARR to north of $200M ARR, and through its sale to Okta for $6.5B in 2021. Prior to Auth0, Dave held a number of executive positions with early stage companies like Redfin, Autonomy and Applied Discovery. Starting his career in law, Dave was also a partner at Cozen O’Connor before making the move to high growth technology companies.

Dave Wilner

Mahau comes to Sapphire Ventures from MuleSoft, a Sapphire portfolio company and the provider of a widely used platform for integration and API management. Mahau’s time at MuleSoft spanned 14 years, from early revenues through IPO and acquisition by Salesforce, and included roles as CMO and head of Corporate Strategy. Previously, Mahau held various marketing and sales enablement positions at TIBCO Software. Earlier, Mahau spent some years in VC at Trinity Ventures and cut his teeth as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mahau graduated from Harvard University with an AB in Economics.

Mahau Ma

Annalise Dragic is a Partner at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Annalise was previously a venture capital investor at [Atomico](/org/atomico) from June 2017 to February 2020, where they focused on Series A to Growth investments and was the UK Market Lead. Annalise was also involved in investments into or worked closely with [Atomico](/org/atomico) Portfolio Companies, such as [Habito](/org/habito), [Healx](/org/healx), [Lilium](/org/lilium) (NASDAQ: LILM), Rekki, Spacemaker (acquired by [Autodesk](/org/autodesk)), [Streetbees](/org/streetbees), [Peakon](/org/peakon) (acquired by [Workday](/org/workday)), [Pipedrive](/org/pipedrive) (exited to [Vista Equity Partners](/org/vista-equity-partners)) and [PsiQuantum](/org/psiquantum).

Prior to their venture capital career, Annalise worked in strategy and analytics at [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin) from July 2014 to July 2016. There, they were part of the Corporate Development team and worked on Business Operations for the European & Middle East Strategy, Sales Strategy & Operations, and Product Finance. Before that, they worked as an investment banking analyst at [Morgan Stanley](/org/morgan-stanley) from June 2012 to August 2013. 

Annalise has deep dive theses on the Future of Work, Built Environment, and Quantum Computing.

Annalise Dragic

Imogen joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) as a member of the investment team in early 2021. She focuses on new investments and assisting current portfolio companies, primarily in Europe and Israel. She is involved in Sapphire’s investments in [Adverity](/org/adverity), [Contentful](/org/contentful), [GitGuardian](/org/gitguardian), [Matillion](/org/matillion), [Unmind](/org/unmind), and [Yapily](/org/yapily).

Prior to joining Sapphire, Imogen worked at [Coller Capital](/org/coller-capital), a secondaries private equity firm. Previously she also launched an experiential retail store in Westfield, London and worked at [Founders Factory](/org/founders-factory), focusing on seed stage investments across Fintech, Education and Retail.

Imogen graduated from the [University of Cambridge](/org/university-of-cambridge) with a degree in economics.

Imogen Mulliner

Manuel Gonzalez is the finance reporting manager at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Manuel was the finance manager at [TriplePoint Capital](/org/triplepoint-capital) from January 2017 to August 2019. In this role, Manuel was responsible for preparing public filings, quarterly board of directors reporting packages, monthly and quarterly financial statements, and close packages for the executive management team. Additionally, Manuel maintained technical models for recognition of monthly loan interest income and calculation of fair values over the debt portfolio.

Manuel Gonzalez has over 10 years of experience in the finance industry. Manuel began their career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where they worked for 3 years before moving into the role of finance manager at [TriplePoint Capital](/org/triplepoint-capital). In their current role at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Manuel is responsible for overseeing the finance team and preparing accurate and timely financial reports.

Manuel Gonzalez completed a BS in Business Administration with a Concentration in Accounting at [San Francisco State University](/org/san-francisco-state-university)'s College of Business.

Their manager is Cristina Hohlman, CFO. They are on a team with Paloma Gante - Accounting Manager, Brett Ripperger - Accounting Manager, and Jenny Mazer - Associate Controller.

Manuel Gonzalez

Kevin Burke has over 25 years of experience in the technology sales industry. Kevin is currently the Vice President of Strategy at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), a leading venture capital firm. Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Kevin held various sales leadership positions at IBM MaaS360, Salesforce.com, Dell Computer, [Thomson Reuters](/org/thomson-reuters), and PTC. Kevin began their career as a District Manager at ADP. Kevin has a proven track record of success in building and leading sales teams and driving revenue growth. Kevin has deep expertise in enterprise software solutions and cloud-based technologies. Kevin is a strategic thinker who excels at developing and executing go-to-market plans. Kevin is a passionate advocate for the power of technology to transform businesses and improve lives.

Kevin Burke has a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a certification from Microsoft in Azure AI Fundamentals. Kevin also has a certification from Microsoft in Azure Data Fundamentals and another in Azure Fundamentals.

They work with Kate Lowe - Executive Assistant, Ralph Debernardo - Partner, Head of Investor Relations, and Charles Guo - VP, Portfolio Growth Strategy & Operations. A direct report to Kevin Burke is and Meghann Shacklette - Strategy Director. Kevin Burke reports to Nino Marakovic, CEO and Partner.

Kevin Burke

Jason Morris is the Director of Analytics and Investor Relations at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Jason was a Senior Associate at [Bain Capital Ventures](/org/bain-capital-ventures) from April 2015 to March 2020. Jason started their career as an accountant at Kaufman Rossin from May 2013 to April 2015 where they provided fund services for the hedge fund/alternative investment industry. Jason has a proven track record in analytics and investor relations and is excited to continue their career at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures).

Jason Morris has a BA in Economics & Legal Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Jason also has a certification from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in Series 63 and Series 7.

They are on a team with Robert Severo - VP, Risk & Analytics & Chief Compliance Officer, Ashley Caldwell - General Counsel, and Rico Mallozzi - VP. Jason Morris reports to Abigail Johnson, Partner and Chief Operating Officer.

Jason Morris

Robert Severo is currently the VP, Risk & Analytics & Chief Compliance Officer at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Prior to this, they were with BluePointe Capital from October 2013 to August 2018 as the CCO and Director, Risk & Analytics. Before that, they were with Capricorn Investment Group from June 2008 to October 2013 as the Director, Reporting & Analytics. From June 2005 to October 2007, they worked as a Trading Associate at Cowen Inc. Robert's first job out of college was with [Loomis, Sayles & Company](/org/loomis-sayles-company-inc) from August 2001 to July 2004 as a Portfolio Analyst.

Robert Severo's educational career includes a BBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Accounting and Finance. Robert is also certified from the [CFA Institute](/org/cfa-institute) as a Chartered Financial Analyst and from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) as a Financial Risk Manager.

Robert Severo works with Rico Mallozzi - VP, Jason Morris - Director, Analytics and Investor Relations, and Ashley Caldwell - General Counsel. Their manager is Abigail Johnson, Partner and Chief Operating Officer.

Robert Severo

Meghann Shacklette is currently the Strategy Director at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Prior to that, they were the Manager of Strategy & Business Operations at [Relativity](/org/relativity) from August 2020 to July 2022. Before that, they were the Chief of Staff to the CEO at [Zoomo](/org/zoomo) (formerly Bolt Bikes) from August 2019 to August 2020. 

Meghann Shacklette started their career as an Associate Consultant at [Bain & Company](/org/bain) from October 2016 to November 2018. After that, they took a gap year to teach English in Korea with EPIK from August 2015 to August 2016. When they returned to the States, they worked as a Research Assistant for the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) from June 2014 to May 2015.

Meghann Shacklette has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the [University of Notre Dame](/org/university-of-notre-dame), a degree from the Korean Language Institute at [Yonsei University](/org/yonsei-university), and a Faculty of Social Sciences in Political Science and Government from The University of Hong Kong.

Meghann Shacklette reports to Kevin Burke, VP, Strategy.

Meghann Shacklette

Alex Lehman is the Vice President at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Alex has over 2 years of experience in technology investment banking. Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), they worked at [Credit Suisse](/org/credit-suisse) from July 2015 to July 2017 as a Technology Investment Banking Analyst. Alex has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Alex Lehman has a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts from [Harvard University](/org/harvard) with concentrations in Psychology and Computer Science & Neurobiology.

They are on a team with Kate Lowe - Executive Assistant, Mackenzie Keegan - VP, Portfolio Talent & People Strategy, and Margaret Phommachanh - Executive Assistant. Their manager is Nino Marakovic, CEO and Partner.

Alex Lehman

After more than 20 years in various investing and operating capacities, Nino has participated in investments in more than 100 private companies and venture capital funds and currently holds board director or observer seats at [ActivTrak](/org/activtrak), [Adverity](/org/adverity), [Brightfield](/org/brightfield), [Integra](/org/integra-llc)l Ad Science (acquired by [Vista Equity Partners](/org/vista-equity-partners)), Monday.com, [OpenX](/org/openx), [OpsRamp](/org/opsramp), and [Reltio](/org/reltio). He is furthermore involved with Sapphire’s investments in Attentive, [Alation](/org/alation), [Feedzai](/org/feedzai), [Mirantis](/org/mirantis-inc), Outreach, [Punchh](/org/punchh), [Reonomy](/org/reonomy), [Scytl](/org/scytl), [Sun Basket](/org/sun-basket), and Tradewind Markets.

Nino’s previous investments at Sapphire include: [Alteryx](/org/alteryx) (NYSE:AYX), Apriso (acquired by Dassault Systemes), Box (NYSE:BOX), [Criteo](/org/criteo) (NASDAQ: CRTO), Endeca (acquired by Oracle), [Inkling](/org/inkling) (acquired by [Marlin Equity Partners](/org/marlin-equity)), iovation (acquired by [TransUnion](/org/transunion)), Iron.io, Krux (acquired by [Salesforce](/org/salesforce)), [Lavante](/org/lavante) (acquired by [PRGX Global](/org/prgx-global)), [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin) (acquired by Microsoft), [Marin Software](/org/marin-software) (NYSE: MRIN), MuleSoft (acquired by [Salesforce](/org/salesforce)), [Nutanix](/org/nutanix) (NASDAQ: NTNX), Payscale (acquired by [Warburg Pincus](/org/warburg-pincus)), Recommind (acquired by [OpenText](/org/opentext)), Right Hemisphere (acquired by SAP), Square (NYSE:SQ), Vendavo (acquired by [Francisco Partners](/org/francisco-partners)), and Zend (acquired by Rogue Wave).

Before [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Nino was a partner with meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson and IVF Ventures. Prior to venture capital, Nino worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, [Goldman Sachs](/org/goldman-sachs), and Robertson Stephens. He has a bachelor’s in economics and psychology from Williams College and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Nino was born in Croatia and has also lived in Austria, Italy, and Germany before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area more than 20 years ago.

Nino Marakovic

Elizabeth Patterson is responsible for cultivating and managing Sapphire Venture’s human capital network, including the Sapphire Fellows program. Her networks span influencer, professional, social, economic and cultural circles. She works closely with Sapphire’s portfolio companies to understand their strategic talent needs and aligns these needs with talent and resources from within Sapphire’s network; helping the portfolio companies to grow and optimize outcomes.

Prior to joining Sapphire, Elizabeth spent five years in venture capital at [Wildcat Venture Partners](/org/wildcat-venture-partners) and [Mohr Davidow Ventures](/org/mohr-davidow-ventures) where she was recruited to build each firm’s talent organizations and executive ecosystems.

Prior to venture capital, Elizabeth held sales and marketing leadership roles at Visualize for ValueSelling Inc., Nike, Inc., and two venture-backed software startups, @Road, and [Clarify](/org/clarify). In her roles as a marketing leader as well as an enterprise and SaaS software sales leader, Elizabeth created and led high-performing teams, and used her go-to-market domain expertise to help scale companies to market leaders.

Elizabeth lives in Silicon Valley and received a bachelor’s from [Cal Poly](/org/cal-poly), San Luis Obispo.

Elizabeth Patterson

Rajeev Dham joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2013, bringing with him broad technology investing experience. Rajeev’s investment focus is split between SaaS businesses as well as category-defining innovators in financial technology and healthcare.

Since joining Sapphire, Rajeev has been involved in 20+ investments and dozens of boards. Rajeev has led investments in and supports the boards of [ActivTrak](/org/activtrak), [Adverity](/org/adverity), [Catchpoint](/org/catchpoint), [Gorgias](/org/gorgias), [Highspot](/org/highspot), [LeanData](/org/leandata), [Livongo](/org/livongo) (NASDAQ: LVGO), Monday.com, Outreach, Pendo, [Podium](/org/podium) and [Reltio](/org/reltio). Rajeev’s previous investments at Sapphire include [Alteryx](/org/alteryx) (NYSE: AYX), Cloudhealth (acquired by VMWare) and Krux (acquired by [Salesforce](/org/salesforce)).

Rajeev also led the firm’s investment in Attentive, [Braze](/org/braze), [Moveworks](/org/moveworks), Segment (acquired by Twillio), and Transferwise, and he worked on investments in [Clari](/org/clari), [Looker](/org/looker) (acquired by Google), [Nutanix](/org/nutanix) (NASDAQ: NTNX), Square (NYSE: SQ), [Localytics](/org/localytics) (acquired by [Upland Software](/org/upland-software)), [Punchh](/org/punchh), [PubNub](/org/pubnub) amongst others. His work has been recognized by GrowthGap, which named him a Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investor of 2020.

Previously, Rajeev worked for [Silver Lake](/org/silver-lake), a technology-focused private equity firm, where he evaluated middle-market and growth equity investments across the software and internet sectors. Prior to his private equity career, Rajeev worked for the investment banking division of [Goldman Sachs](/org/goldman-sachs). He also spent time during business school working with Amazon’s corporate development group.

Rajeev holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and received a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Southern California, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Rajeev Dham

Steve is a partner at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), where he is responsible for the firm’s capital markets activities. Steve’s areas of technology focus include consumer hardware, automotive technology and legal technology, as well as the intersection of sports, media and disruptive technologies. He has served as a board director for Recommind and currently serves as a board observer for [Tonal](/org/tonal) and Fevo. Steve is a founding partner of the firm’s early-stage sports, media and entertainment technology investing initiative, Sapphire Sport. Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), he was a managing director in technology investment banking at [Deutsche Bank](/org/deutsche-bank), UBS and [Jefferies](/org/jefferies), where he led more than 100 financings and M&A transactions.

Earlier in his career, Steve was a strategy consultant at [Bain & Company](/org/bain) and worked in technology corporate finance at [Robertson Stephens](/org/robertson-stephens). He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, with highest honors, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a JD from Stanford Law School. During his time at Stanford, Steve was a fellow at the Stanford Center for Conflict and Negotiation and worked for the San Francisco 49ers on salary cap modeling. He also serves on the Bay Area Leadership Council for the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Steve is based in our Palo Alto office. He has also lived in London, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and traveled extensively throughout Europe and China.

Steve Abbott

Beezer leads Sapphire Partners‘ investments in venture funds domestically and internationally.

Beezer began her career in financial services over 20 years ago at [Morgan Stanley](/org/morgan-stanley) in its global infrastructure group. Since, she has held various direct and indirect venture investment roles, as well as operational roles in software business development at Hewlett Packard. Prior to joining Sapphire in 2012, Beezer managed the day-to-day operations of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Global Network, which then had $7 billion under management across 16 venture funds worldwide.

In 2016, Beezer led the launch of OpenLP, an effort to help foster greater understanding in the entrepreneur-to-LP tech ecosystem. Additionally, she is a judge for 100&Change, a MacArthur Foundation competition that provides funding to solve critical challenges of our time. In 2014, she was named to the Forty Over 40 list of women to watch.

Beezer earned a bachelor’s in government from [Wesleyan University](/org/wesleyan-university), where she served on the board of trustees, and an MBA from [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school). Born in London, she has dual US and EU citizenship, and has also lived in Boston, New York, Honolulu, and Spain.

Beezer Clarkson

Michael Spirito is a founding partner and lead investor for Sapphire Sport. Michael is currently a member of the board (director or observer) at Fevo, Greenpark Sports, MixHalo, Mycujoo, and [Overtime](/org/overtime).

Previously, Michael led digital media and business development across the portfolio of 22 FOX regional sports networks. He joined [YES Network](/org/yankees-entertainment-sports-network-llc) beginning in 2006, helping build and ultimately sell the business to FOX for $3.8BN in 2014. While at YES, Michael was responsible for several initiatives including launching the first ever authenticated streaming product in U.S. sport.

Michael was a founding member of Time Warner Ventures in 2000, where he was responsible for the company’s investing focus on advanced digital video services.  He began his career in the media and telecommunications investment banking group at [Credit Suisse](/org/credit-suisse). Personally, Michael has served as an early stage investor in and advisor to [Bonobos](/org/bonobos), Trunk Club, [Tecovas](/org/tecovas), Billie, RotoQL, Drone Racing League, [Overtime](/org/overtime), [Cargo](/org/cargo) and Boom.

Michael graduated magna cum laude from [Amherst College](/org/amherst-college), where he played football and baseball, with a bachelor’s in economics, and from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he played dodgeball and led the GSB Show, with an MBA. Michael was named to the Multichannel News 40-under-40 list in 2010 and is a two-time Emmy winner who enjoys reading, fitness and traveling. A native Rhode Islander, Michael splits time between New York and the Bay Area.



Michael Spirito

Rico is a Vice President at Sapphire Sport where he supports Sport’s portfolio and sources investment opportunities across the media, entertainment, and consumer software landscape. Rico is particularly passionate about virtual worlds and decentralized technology. He oversees Sapphire Sport’s unique platform of investors, networks, and communities to help drive tangible results to Sport’s portfolio.
Rico’s experience in the technology industry spans across multiple functional areas. He began his career working at start-ups in the renewable energy industry and more recently held positions at [Cisco](/org/cisco) and SAP. Throughout his career at SAP, he served in roles such as corporate development, sales strategy in APJ (Singapore), and corporate strategy for the Office of the CEO at Ariba. Rico’s last role at SAP was on the strategic business development team, a small team created by SAP’s North American CEO to help SAP’s largest customers and partners define their digital transformation strategy. Rico has also supported social entrepreneurs in Indonesia and Sri Lanka in developing business models for social venture funds.
Rico has a bachelor’s in finance and economics and graduated summa cum laude from [Bryant University](/org/bryant-university). He has an MBA from The University of Notre Dame Mendoza School of Business where he was a Provost Fellowship Award recipient. Rico has lived and worked in Italy, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Thailand. When not working you can find Rico running along the Embarcadero and chasing his mischievous dog at Crissy Field.

Rico Mallozzi

Dave is a co-founder and partner of [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures).  He has been working in venture capital since 1997 where he started in inside sales. Dave’s excitement for venture investing springs from getting to work with people that are smarter than him and getting a preview on new technologies and businesses changing the shape of just about everything. His interests are wide ranging and his experiences include: analytics, digital health and wellness, enterprise SaaS, FinTech/FinServices, infrastructure, IoT and security.

Dave is currently a member of the board (director or observer) at [Brightfield](/org/brightfield), [Kaltura](/org/kaltura), [LeanData](/org/leandata), Medable, [Reonomy](/org/reonomy), and [StackHawk](/org/stackhawk).

Dave’s previous investments at Sapphire include: [23andMe](/org/23andme), [Alfresco](/org/alfresco) (acquired by THL Partners), Datria (acquired by Intelligrated), FitBit (NYSE: FIT), [Livongo](/org/livongo) (NASDAQ: LVGO), Lithium Technologies (acquired by [Vista Equity Partners](/org/vista-equity-partners)), [Looker](/org/looker) (Acquired by Google Cloud), [PayScale](/org/payscale) (acquired by [Warburg Pincus](/org/warburg-pincus)), [Ping Identity](/org/ping-identity) (acquired by [Vista Equity Partners](/org/vista-equity-partners)), [Phoenix Labs](/org/phoenix-labs) (acquired by Sea’s [Garena](/org/garena)), [Qumu](/org/qumu) (NASDAQ: QUMU), Ticketfly (acquired by Pandora), Tradewind Markets, and Tremor Video (NYSE: TLRA).

Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2006, Dave helped start the tech venture capital team within American Capital and was a member of the communications investing team at [Battery Ventures](/org/battery-ventures) from 1997-2004. He began his career at Deloitte Consulting where he worked on large-scale software rollouts and the supporting network and process redesigns within technology and healthcare focused clients.

Dave has a BSE in operations research from Princeton and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. He’s interested in hearing about the best book you’ve read recently.

David Hartwig

Anders has been investing at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) since 2012. Currently, he is a board director or observer at [Alation](/org/alation), [Auth0](/org/auth0), [Dremio](/org/dremio), [Exabeam](/org/exabeam), [Feedzai](/org/feedzai), and [InfluxData](/org/influxdata). In addition, he worked on the firm’s investments in [Contentful](/org/contentful) and [StackHawk](/org/stackhawk). Anders is interested in next-generation enterprise infrastructure, data management, and cyber security solutions, as well as the intersection of autonomy, robotics, and disruptive technologies.

Anders’ previous investments at Sapphire include: Cyphort (acquired by Juniper), Iron.io (acquired by Xenon Ventures), Portworx (Acq. by [Pure Storage](/org/pure-storage), [JFrog](/org/jfrog) (NASDAQ: FROG), and [Sumo Logic](/org/sumo-logic) (NASDAQ: SUMO).

Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Anders was an executive at SAP for 12 years in product management and strategy. He was also chief of staff to the CTO and executive board member of SAP. He worked closely on the acquisition of Business Objects and Sybase by SAP, among others.

Anders was born in Trondheim, Norway and has lived in Paris, South Dakota, and California. He has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in management from the [University of South Dakota](/org/university-of-south-dakota).

Anders Ranum

Jai is a partner, president and co-founder at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). He invests in startups which he believes are developing ground-breaking products and services, and have embarked on their journey to become a company of consequence. He has more than 15 years of experience helping companies innovate their product and marketing strategies in order to scale and become market leaders. Thirteen of Jai’s investments have become publicly traded companies and 15 have been acquired.

Jai is currently a member of the board (director or observer) at [Catchpoint](/org/catchpoint), [CircleCI](/org/circleci), [Clari](/org/clari), [DataRobot](/org/datarobot), Narrative Science, [OpsRamp](/org/opsramp), [PubNub](/org/pubnub), [Punchh](/org/punchh), [Splashtop](/org/splashtop), [ThoughtSpot](/org/thoughtspot), [UJET](/org/ujet), [Uptycs](/org/uptycs) and [Verbit](/org/verbit). He also led the firms’s investment in [Netskope](/org/netskope).

Jai’s previous investments at Sapphire include: at AllyO (acquired by [HireVue](/org/hirevue)), [Alteryx](/org/alteryx) (NYSE: AYX), Apigee (IPO then acquired by Google Cloud), Box (NYSE: BOX), [Connectiva Systems](/org/connectiva-systems) (acquired by Mara Ison), Cloudhealth Technologies (acquired by [VMware](/org/vmware)), [Control4](/org/control4) (IPO then acquired By [Hellman & Friedman](/org/hellman-friedman)), Cyphort (acquired by [Juniper Networks](/org/juniper-networks)), ExactTarget (IPO then acquired by [Salesforce](/org/salesforce)), [Five9](/org/five9) (NASDAQ: FIVN), GroundWork (acquired by [Parallax](/org/parallax)), Ignite Technologies (acquired by Versata), Iron.IO (acquired by Xenon Technologies), Jaspersoft (acquired by TIBCO Software), [JFrog](/org/jfrog) (NASDAQ: FROG), JustDial (NYSE: JUSTDIAL), MuleSoft (IPO then acquired by [Salesforce](/org/salesforce)), [Newgen](/org/newgen-software-technologies-ltd) Software (NSE: NEWGEN), [Nutanix](/org/nutanix) (NASDAQ: NTNX), [Paytm](/org/paytm) (acquired by One97 Communications Ltd.), Portworx (acquired by Pure Storage), Socrata (acquired by [Tyler Technologies](/org/tyler-technologies)), Square (NYSE: SQ), Sumo Logic (NASDAQ: SUMO), and Tealeaf (acquired by IBM).

Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2006, Jai worked at Oracle, Intel Capital, Agilent Ventures, and MVC Capital. He has a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Brown University and an MBA from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Jai Das

Thomas joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in the summer of 2017 and focuses on the firm’s fund investments in the US and internationally. As part of the Partners team, he helps conduct due diligence on current and potential investments for [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures)’ fund portfolio. Prior to joining Sapphire, he worked at [Tufts University](/org/tufts-university) underwriting a multitude of different investment strategies with a focus on private markets for the university’s endowment.

Thomas received a bachelor’s in economics with honors from [Tufts University](/org/tufts-university). Born in New York City, he has also lived in Hong Kong, South Korea and Switzerland. Thomas is a CFA Charterholder.



Thomas Moon

Jenny Mazer is Associate Controller for [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Jenny spent the last few years working as a Director of Accounting at the [Blackstone](/org/blackstone) Group, which she spent in both their GSO Credit and Real Estate Debt Strategies businesses in New York. She helped with the launch of the firm’s largest Real Estate Debt fund of $8 billion in commitments, by setting up the controls environment and managing its day-to-day accounting functions and quarterly deliverables. Before Jenny was at [Blackstone](/org/blackstone), she was a Controller at a small boutique Private Equity firm called GPB and spent four years as an accounting manager at Centerbridge Partners. She originally started out her career in Ernst & Young’s Asset Management audit practice in New York, where she moved after graduating from [Florida State University](/org/florida-state-university) with a Bachelors in both Accounting and Finance.

Jenny Mazer

Wilson Albright is Associate General Counsel at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Wilson was an Associate at [Jackson Walker](/org/jackson-walker-llp), where his practice focused on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate governance issues, securities offerings, and general business transactions. Before beginning his legal career, Wilson served as Special Assistant to the Texas Secretary of State and, during law school, Wilson served as a judicial intern for The Honorable Sam Sparks of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Wilson received both his B.A. and his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. Wilson remains involved in numerous Austin-based philanthropic and community organizations in various capacities, including The Trial Foundation, the Friar Society, American Youthworks, Austin Community Foundation, [Litera](/org/litera)cy First, and the Texas Law Alumni Association.

Wilson Albright

Casber joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) as a member of the investment team in early 2018. He focuses primarily on security, enterprise infrastructure, and data & analytics. He has actively worked on Sapphire’s investments in [Auth0](/org/auth0), [CircleCI](/org/circleci), [Dremio](/org/dremio), [Exabeam](/org/exabeam), Outreach, [Moveworks](/org/moveworks), Pendo, Side, [StackHawk](/org/stackhawk), Thoughtspot, Upytcs and [Verbit](/org/verbit). In 2020, Business Insider listed Casber as an Enterprise VC Rising Star Investor.

Prior to Sapphire, he was part of the technology investment banking group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he worked on a number of high-profile IPO and M&A transactions. He also spent time at Wish, a leading mobile commerce platform in North America and Europe.

Casber graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor’s in business. While at Cal, he was actively involved with the startup scene and co-founded Etch.ai, a personal CRM company incubated at Berkeley Skydeck. Originally from Wuhan, China, Casber is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese.



Casber Wang

Nate invests in early-stage venture capital funds on the Sapphire Partners team. He is passionate about partnering with established and emerging firms and supporting aspiring GPs.

Before joining Sapphire Partners in 2019, Nate worked on the investment team at [Industry Ventures](/org/industry-ventures) focused on primary and secondary investments in venture capital funds, and direct co-investments in growth-stage companies. Prior to [Industry Ventures](/org/industry-ventures), Nate held operating roles at early stage startups including [Optimizely](/org/optimizely) where he helped build the technology partner ecosystem. He started his venture capital investment career at [Bain Capital Ventures](/org/bain-capital-ventures).

Nate earned a bachelor’s in management science & engineering at Stanford and an MBA from [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school). He enjoys spending time outdoors and devours epic fantasy and science fiction novels.

Nate Leung

Andreas Weiskam is a co-founder and partner of [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). He serves as a board director or observer at [Contentful](/org/contentful), CurrencyCloud, [Matillion](/org/matillion), and [Wandera](/org/wandera).

Andreas’ previous investments at Sapphire include:  [Criteo](/org/criteo) (NASDAQ: CRTO), [DocuSign](/org/docusign) (NASDAQ: DOCU), Iovation (acquired by [TransUnion](/org/transunion)), iTAC (acquired by Durr), [Lavante](/org/lavante) (acquired by [PRGX Global](/org/prgx-global)), LogLogic (acquired by TIBCO Software), Retail Solutions (acquired by IRi), Zend Technologies (acquired by Rogue Wave), and Voxeo (acquired by Aspect Software).

Prior to [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Andreas held business development roles at SAP, co-developing the SAP enterprise services community and leading reseller partnerships with Virsa Systems and Mercury Interactive among others. Before SAP, he co-founded Zadu, a venture-backed instant messaging startup.

Andreas holds a Diplom-Kaufmann (graduate business degree) from the [University of Hamburg](/org/university-of-hamburg), Germany and an MLitt with distinction in management, economics and politics from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Andreas is a Kauffman Fellow and has lived in Stockholm, Hamburg, Munich and San Francisco. He is based in London.


Andreas Weiskam

Laura Thompson invests in technology-focused venture funds domestically and internationally. She is passionate about partnering with established and emerging firms to advance the thinking in the limited partner space.  Laura is a frequent contributor to OpenLP.com in an effort to help increase transparency across the venture ecosystem, and was named a VC Rising Star by Venture Capital Journal in 2021.

Before joining Sapphire Partners in 2018, Laura worked as part of the investment team at [Horsley Bridge](/org/horsley-bridge) Partners, where she helped the team make hundreds of millions of fund commitments. Prior to [Horsley Bridge](/org/horsley-bridge), Laura was part of the investment teams at Capital E Partners and W Capital Partners and completed the investment banking program at Banc of America Securities.

Laura earned a bachelor’s from [Dartmouth College](/org/dartmouth), where she focused her studies on economics and psychology, and an MBA from the Wharton School. Laura is a Bay Area native and you can find her and her husband running around Potrero Hill, cross-country skiing at Tahoe or watching the 49ers, Warriors and Giants.

Laura Thompson

Cathy is a partner at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) where she focuses on enterprise software, security, HR tech, and vertical software investments. Cathy has worked on Sapphire’s investments in [CircleCI](/org/circleci), [Gorgias](/org/gorgias) and [Moveworks](/org/moveworks). In addition, she is a board observer at [Medable](/org/medable) and [UJET](/org/ujet).

Prior to joining Sapphire, Cathy was an investor at [AXA Venture Partners](/org/axa-venture-partners) where she invested in rapidly-scaling enterprise software, FinTech, and InsurTech companies. Previously as an operator, Cathy spent time in business operations at Gusto, a venture-backed company that provides payroll and HR services to SMBs. She started her investing career at [TA Associates](/org/ta-associates) and was also on the M&A team at [Blackstone](/org/blackstone).

Cathy graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, with a bachelors in Economics with a concentration in Finance. She was born in China and has also lived in Houston, New York, and Boston.

Cathy Gao

Doug is a co-founder of [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), as well as a founding partner and lead investor for Sapphire Sport. He currently manages the firm’s investments in Tonal, [Convercent](/org/convercent), [Manticore Games](/org/manticore-games), and [PlayVS](/org/playvs). Doug’s previous investments include [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin), [DocuSign](/org/docusign) (NASDAQ: DOCU), [Phoenix Labs](/org/phoenix-labs) (acquired by [Garena](/org/garena)), [Paytm](/org/paytm),  [Fitbit](/org/fitbit) (NYSE: FIT), Square (NYSE: SQ), and Ticketfly (acquired by Pandora). He is focused on investing in early-stage technology companies at the intersection of sports, media and entertainment technologies.

Doug has worked for a venture-backed startup as well as for one of his entrepreneurial heroes, George Lucas. He launched the business development group for [Lucasfilm](/org/lucasfilm), creating strategic partnerships for Star Wars prequels.

Doug started his career in investment banking, with a focus on technology, at [Robertson Stephens](/org/robertson-stephens). More recently, he managed the Intel 64 fund at Intel Capital. Doug has lived in Madrid, Spain; Santiago, Chile; and Walker, Minnesota. He graduated with a bachelor’s from [Duke University](/org/duke-university) and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at [Northwestern University](/org/northwestern-university), both with high honors.

Doug Higgins

Kevin joined Sapphire in 2012 and focuses his time primarily on innovative consumer businesses and vertical software applications. He looks for large spaces, clear value propositions, and great teams to execute behind them. Kevin has sat on the boards of over a dozen companies in his career including his current board seats (director and observer) at [Convercent](/org/convercent), [Culture Amp](/org/culture-amp), Current, [Kaltura](/org/kaltura), project44 and [Sun Basket](/org/sun-basket).  He also led the firm’s investment in [23andMe](/org/23andme), and worked on investments in [AvidXchange](/org/avidxchange) and [Cazoo](/org/cazoo).

Kevin previously worked on Sapphire’s investments in [Fitbit](/org/fitbit) (NYSE: FIT), [Inkling](/org/inkling) (acquired by [Marlin Equity Partners](/org/marlin-equity)), [Integral Ad Science](/org/integral-ad-science) (acquired by [Vista Equity Partners](/org/vista-equity-partners)), Jibe (acquired by [iCIMS](/org/icims)) Socrata (acquired by [Tyler Technologies](/org/tyler-technologies)) and Vendavo (acquired by [Francisco Partners](/org/francisco-partners)).

Before joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2012, he worked at [Shamrock Capital Advisors](/org/shamrock-capital-advisors), a Los Angeles-based growth private equity firm, where he evaluated investments in the media, entertainment and communications sectors. Prior to his private equity career, Kevin worked at Merrill Lynch in its investment banking division in Los Angeles.

Kevin holds an MBA from [Stanford University](/org/stanford) and received the Ernest C. Arbuckle Award for contributing most to the fulfillment of the goals and integrity of the school. He received a bachelor’s in business economics and graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Kevin Diestel

Shruti leads Sapphire’s business development and go-to-market (GTM) consulting team globally with a focus on revenue acceleration for Sapphire’s portfolio companies.  The team is responsible for leveraging and growing Sapphire’s enterprise CIO and CXO network, connecting portfolio companies with new customers and partners, and aiding portfolio revenue leaders in developing successful go-to-market strategies.  Under Shruti’s leadership, Sapphire has also developed unique forums and assets such as the annual CIO Summit and CIO Innovation Index, which drive value for startups and corporate innovators alike.

Previously, Shruti led product for SAP’s cloud business travel solution, driving rapid customer adoption at SAP’s top accounts and developing technology and distribution partnerships with startups and tech giants. Her work inking product alliances with startups sparked her interest in the dynamic world of venture capital, eventually motivating Shruti to join Sapphire for the rare opportunity to help some of the industry’s most inspiring startups become even more successful.

Shruti has an MBA from [UC Berkeley](/org/uc-berkeley) and a bachelor’s in international relations from [Wellesley College](/org/wellesley-college). She has lived and worked in the US, Germany and United Kingdom, and is an avid traveler together with her husband and two daughters.

Shruti Tournatory

As a partner, Rami leads Sapphire Ventures’ global Portfolio Growth platform. The Portfolio Growth team of business development, talent and marketing professionals works closely with portfolio companies to provide strategic support across a range of topics, including go-to-market, business development, executive recruiting, and international expansion, among other functional areas.  He serves as a board observer at [Mirantis](/org/mirantis-inc) and [TidalScale](/org/tidalscale) and a board member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Rami Branitzky

Paul joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2018 and leads investments in fintech, SMB/vertical SaaS, proptech, and marketplaces. He brings 20 years of experience as an operator and leader of high-growth organizations including [Trulia](/org/trulia), [Zillow Group](/org/zillow-group), [Yahoo!](/org/yahoo), and E*TRADE. Paul is currently a member of the board at [Restream](/org/restream) and Side, and is active in Sapphire’s investments in [AvidXchange](/org/avidxchange), Current and [Podium](/org/podium).

Prior to joining Sapphire, Paul was president and COO of [Trulia](/org/trulia), where he helped lead [Trulia](/org/trulia)’s transformation from a private 100-person company with $20 million in revenue, to a successful standalone public company and to its eventual merger with [Zillow Group](/org/zillow-group) (NASDAQ: ZG) to create a company with more than 3,000 employees, $1 billion in revenue and $10 billion in market capitalization.

Before [Trulia](/org/trulia) and [Zillow Group](/org/zillow-group), Paul held leadership roles in product, marketing and general management at [Yahoo!](/org/yahoo), E*TRADE, CurrentTV, and AdBrite. He has been an investor and/or advisor to over 25 tech startups, ranging from early-stage startups to growth-stage companies.

Paul served on the board of directors of TubeMogul (acquired by Adobe) and Zvents (acquired by [eBay](/org/ebay)). He holds a bachelor’s in economics and English from [Amherst College](/org/amherst-college), and an MBA from [Stanford University](/org/stanford).

Paul Levine

Tia joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in the beginning of 2019. As part of the Finance team, she assists with the Sapphire Partners operations, financial reporting, and tax related matters.

She came from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she had been practicing tax compliance and consulting for venture capital and private equity clients. Prior to that, she worked at a private equity firm and was exposed to various domestic and international tax-related entity structuring. Her entrepreneurial spirit is driving her to grow out of tax and become a well-rounded professional in finance.

Tia grew up in Hunan, China and moved to the US in 2005. She graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s in business economics, emphasis in accounting, and obtained her CPA license in 2013.

Tia Kotarba

Abigail is partner and chief operating officer at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), where she is responsible for managing the organization’s legal affairs and supporting its operations and corporate compliance. Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2015, Abigail was an associate at [Jones Day](/org/jones-day), where she practiced in the areas of venture capital, M&A, fund formation, and general corporate and securities matters. She also worked in-house at an early-stage fintech company in the Bay Area prior to joining [Jones Day](/org/jones-day) and, before attending law school, she worked in management consulting at [Charles River Associates](/org/charles-river-associates).

Abigail holds a JD from the University of Chicago Law School and a bachelor’s from Rice University in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Abigail Johnson

Ellie Javadi is the CMO of [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) where she is responsible for overseeing firmwide marketing and communications initiatives.

Prior to Sapphire, she was the Head of Marketing and Vice President at [Norwest Venture Partners](/org/norwest-venture-partners) (NVP) for seven years. While there, she oversaw the firm’s brand and marketing evolution with a focus on digital, social, and content initiatives.

Prior to Norwest, she spent a decade at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) where she led the communications function and was responsible for marketing, social media, content, and earned media initiatives for SRI and its spin-off companies (including launch and acquisition support for Siri, which was acquired by Apple). Earlier, Ellie was head of communications at [Agile Software](/org/agile-software) and Ariba (now SAP Ariba).

Over the course of her career, Ellie has provided strategic communications, branding and marketing counsel to hundreds of startups with a specific emphasis on launch and growth strategy.

She has served three terms as President of the Board of the Public Relations Society of America (Silicon Valley) and is President of the Board at the Pacific Art League (PAL) in Palo Alto.

Ellie earned her graduate and undergraduate degrees from [Carnegie Mellon University](/org/carnegie-mellon-university) in Pittsburgh, PA. She is active in CMU alumni affairs and hosts alumni events and dinners in Silicon Valley. She is an active marketing and brand advisor to the CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group supporting founders and CEOs on their journey.

She lives with her family in northern California, along with a middle-aged Frenchie. Her hobbies include painting, art collecting and connecting emerging artists with collectors.

Jenny Bavinger

Krupa oversees HR and people management matters at [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures). Prior to joining Sapphire, Krupa spent four years at PointState Capital as Managing Director and Head of Human Capital where she built out the firm’s Human Capital function. Prior to that, Krupa spent several years as a Senior HR Business Partner at BlueMountain Capital Management (now Assured Investment Management).

Krupa has a BS in Finance from NYU-Stern School of Business, and an MBA in HR from [Pace University](/org/pace-university-new-york). She also received her Executive Coaching certification through [Columbia University](/org/columbia-university). Krupa is an active board member of Code2College whose mission is to dramatically increase the number of minority and low-income high school students who enter and excel in STEM undergraduate majors and careers.

Krupa Vankayala

Brett joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) as an Accounting Manager in the beginning of 2021. As part of the Finance Team, he is responsible for financial reporting, valuations, portfolio company monitoring, and assisting with fund operations.

Brett previously worked as a Fund Controller at Standish Management where his primary focus was the financial reporting and fund administration of several venture capital and private equity clients. Brett graduated from [Bentley University](/org/bentley-university) in Waltham, MA with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting. While there, he played on the men’s soccer team, and he obtained his CPA license in 2019.

Brett Ripperger

Prior to joining Sapphire Ventures, Jacob worked at RSM US LLP where he served in the Audit and Attestation practice, specifically in the real estate, professional sports and consumer product industries. Prior to that, Jacob attended the University of Missouri where he received a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Accountancy and worked as a bookkeeper for a small advertising agency that specializes in SEO and digital media. As a Kansas City native, Jacob relocated to Austin in 2020. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, spending time with his dog and exploring Austin’s many great restaurants.



Jacob Dehardt

Prior to joining Sapphire Ventures, Andrew was a Senior Associate on VMware’s Corporate Development team. During his time there, he focused on building and executing VMware’s inorganic strategy through M&A and strategic partnerships. Andrew started his career at Intrepid Investment Bankers representing technology companies in their sell-side M&A process. Andrew graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Computer Science, where he also played for the rugby team. Born in the Carolinas, he relocated to San Francisco in 2020. In his free time, Andrew enjoys snow or water sports, a competitive game of pickleball, and supporting his hometown college football teams.



Andrew Slade

Jason previously worked as a Principal at Kaiser Associates, a corporate strategy consultancy, where he helped lead the Financial Services & Payments practice. In this capacity, he advised global Fintech firms on new product development, innovation, and investment initiatives. Prior to his MBA, Jason also worked on product marketing and sales enablement for Kong (Sapphire Portfolio Company). Jason is a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth and Middlebury College. Jason is an avid soccer player (+diehard Arsenal fan), playing varsity soccer at Middlebury and in South America as well.

Jason Brooke

Prior to joining Sapphire, Georgie was an Investment Executive at CVC Capital Partners. During her time there she focused on large-cap investments across multiple industries, primarily in the U.K. and Ireland. She started out her career as an intern at Carlyle, and then joined the Principal Investors team at Boston Consulting Group. Georgie grew up in Wales and graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in history and politics. In her spare time, she enjoys triathlons, skiing, hiking, and finding new foodie spots.

Georgie Davies

Prior to joining Sapphire, Sam has worked within the FP&A team at City Football Group, providing business planning and analytical support across prospective investments and strategic development opportunities. Sam graduated from St John’s College, University of Cambridge with a BA degree in Economics with Management. Sam is an avid footballer who also enjoys reading historical fiction and exploring the outdoors.

Sam Smith

Prior to joining Sapphire Ventures, Bernadette was an Executive Assistant at Geller & Company in New York City. During her time there, she supported multiple CFOs while servicing the firm’s biggest client. Prior to Geller & Company, Bernadette worked at The Walt Disney Company supporting the Director of Global Account Management. Bernadette recently moved back to her hometown in the Bay Area in 2021. In her free time Bernadette enjoys trying new restaurants, spending time with her family and listening to smooth jazz and 90’s R&B.

Bernadette Menor


Prior to joining Sapphire Ventures, Seamus was a student at Columbia Business School with a concentration in finance. Prior to Columbia Business School, Seamus worked at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management where he assisted with the management of publicly traded portfolios in addition to performing investment due diligence and allocation on external private funds. A native New Yorker, Seamus is based out of New York City. In his free time Seamus enjoys playing golf, rooting for his beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and trying new restaurants.

Seamus Dunne

Mackenzie is currently Vice President, Portfolio Talent & People Strategy with Sapphire Ventures. He brings over a decade of experience partnering with leaders and teams across industries to build and scale complex people and business strategies through transformational phases in an organization’s evolution. Mackenzie brings a hybrid background of both HR Business Partnering and leadership recruitment across Engineering and Go-to-Market teams, and supports our investing teams, portfolio, and Sapphires broad network across an array of core HR disciplines, such as leadership development, organizational design, performance development, leadership recruitment, DEI, and compensation.

Prior to joining Sapphire Ventures, Mackenzie spent four years with Atlassian. During his time as an HR Business Partner, he supported global product engineering leaders and teams through a time of hyper growth, helped drive the shift to fully-distributed work, scale culture, building bespoke and scalable strategies, and coaching leaders and managers. Before joining the Global HRBP team, he built and established an internal executive search capability to scale internal best practices during a time of aggressive international expansion, product offering evolution, and internal change.

Before embarking into the world of all things Enterprise, Mackenzie held TA leadership roles with a pre-ipo Sonos, in the executive search world working with HR functional leaders across Fortune 1000 companies, and as an HR consultant supporting global multinationals build out capability to support N. American operations.

Mackenzie Keegan

Prior to Sapphire, Tori spent eight years in communications agencies in both Austin and San Francisco. Most recently, she served as Account Director at Buie & Co., where she led strategic communication campaigns for her clients, including media relations, message development, community outreach and events. Before that, Tori spent three years in San Francisco at Outcast, serving tech clients in various stages of growth. Throughout her career, clients have included [Waymo](/org/waymo), Apple, [Lyft](/org/lyft), Facebook, Instagram, [Spotify](/org/spotify), TurboTax and [Coinbase](/org/coinbase), among others. In her off time, Tori volunteers for local environmental nonprofits such as The Trail Foundation and Waterloo Greenway, and never misses a moment to be outdoors exploring Central Texas with her husband Joe.

Tori Robertson

Charles joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) as the Head of Strategy and Operations for the Portfolio Growth Platform with over a decade of experience that span across strategy, operations, and entrepreneurship . The Portfolio Growth team works closely with portfolio companies to provide strategic support across a range of topics, including go-to-market, business development, executive recruiting, and international expansion, among other functional areas. In his role, Charles works to scale and enhance the delivery of the Sapphire PG platform to portfolio companies.

Charles Guo

Karan joined [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) in 2022 and leads its Revenue Excellence function, responsible for providing strategic advisory to Sapphire portfolio companies on scaling their Revenue engine. Sapphire’s Revenue Excellence function works with leaders in Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and Revenue Operations to provide subject matter expertise on key concepts to support growth as well as help ideate through challenges portfolio companies are facing as they scale. 

Karan Singh

Will is a Certified Public Accountant and brings a specialized skillset to the firm in the areas of strategic corporate finance, partnership matters, and technical U.S. and international accounting and tax matters.  He launched his career in 1998 in the audit practice of KPMG in San Antonio, later relocating to Dallas to join the assurance and advisory practice of Deloitte & Touche, serving globally branded clients in retail, health care, not-for-profit, and real estate.  Since 2008, Will has served in a variety of controllership, operations, and corporate finance roles in private equity with Hudson Advisors/Lone Star Funds ($43 billion in assets under management (AUM)), Lantern Asset Management/Centerbridge Partners ($2 billion in AUM), and a private family office ($2B in AUM).

Will lives in Dallas, Texas, and enjoys spending time with his wife, two daughters, and English bulldog, Walter.

Will Suttle

Abhishek leads Sapphire’s business development efforts in the European market, focusing on expanding the [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures) CXO network and helping portfolio companies accelerate their growth in the region. Abhishek works on initiatives around thought leadership, CIO and CXO networking, market penetration, GTM best-practices, and more.

Previously, Abhishek led business development in Europe for [Dropbox](/org/dropbox), driving rapid growth of technology and distribution partnerships, all with the aim of increasing revenue through partner integrations and offers. Prior to partnerships, Abhishek grew his career as a solutions architect and sales engineering lead, with a focus on creating best-in-class technology solutions for enterprise customers. In these roles, Abhishek sold into many of the Global 2000 companies in the U.S. and Europe, honing a discipline of successful go-to-market practices aimed at the enterprise.

Abhishek graduated from [Northwestern University](/org/northwestern-university) with a dual bachelors degree in economics and psychology. Originally from the US, he moved to the UK in 2017 from San Francisco and enjoys traveling, running, and mindfulness. He also hosts a podcast called One Simple Question.

Prior to joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Evan was an Associate with the Alternatives Research team at Wilshire. During his time there, he focused on investment research across private market primary, secondary, and co-investment opportunities. Prior to Wilshire, Evan worked at [United Wind](/org/united-wind), a renewable energy startup, and began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. A Pennsylvania native, Evan recently relocated to San Francisco in 2022. In his free time Evan enjoys running, reading, and spending time with his girlfriend & two dogs.


Evan Tarzian

Justin is Controller for Sapphire Ventures, where he will support the Firm’s accounting, financial reporting, and valuation. Prior to joining Sapphire Ventures, Justin was the VP of Finance and Accounting at Ovation Partners, a private credit and specialty finance firm. While at Ovation, he oversaw the Firm’s financial reporting, external audits, valuation, budgeting, and fund administration. Justin began his career in the audit practice at KPMG US LLP. While at KPMG, Justin led audits of financial statements and internal controls for both publicly traded and privately held clients. His time was focused on the financial services, oil and gas, and technology industries. Justin graduated from Baylor University, where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters in Accountancy. Justin lives in Austin, Texas, where he enjoys the live music scene, mountain biking, and running in his free time.

Justin White

Jane Lee

Nicole Torres

Adam joined Sapphire Ventures as a member of the growth investment team in 2021. As an associate, he focuses on performing due diligence on prospective investments, assisting current portfolio companies with ad hoc projects, and looking out for exciting new companies in the B2B SaaS space.

Before Sapphire Ventures, Adam was part of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Technology Investment Banking Group, where he worked on multi-billion-dollar IPOs and M&A transactions across the software and internet verticals. Adam also brings a diverse set of experiences in technology having spent time at Light Street Capital, Yahoo!, and start-ups while in college. Adam graduated with distinction from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration.

Born and raised in Palo Alto, CA, Adam is also an avid runner, road biker, mountain biker, golfer, and watch collector.

Adam Liu

Paloma is an Accounting Manager within the Finance team. She supports a variety of functions, including funds’ operations, financial reporting, valuations, and tracking portfolio company performance.

Before joining [Sapphire Ventures](/org/sapphire-ventures), Paloma was Fund Controller at Standish Management where she provided fund administration services to venture capital and private equity clients. She also worked for more than three years at [KPMG](/org/kpmg) providing audit services to clients in a variety of industries, including retail, infrastructure services, and private equity.

Paloma holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M International University and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas. She grew up in Texas and enjoys traveling.

Paloma Gante

Ralph is a Partner and Head of Investor Relations for Sapphire Ventures, where he is responsible for managing all aspects of the firm’s investor communications and capital raising activities. Ralph works across all of Sapphire’s strategies (Growth, Sport and Partners) to deliver the firm’s capabilities and develop long-term partnerships to its limited partners throughout the world.

Ralph has broad experience working with investors both in the U.S. and internationally, including large institutional investors, family offices, HNW individuals, wealth management platforms and consultants. Prior to joining Sapphire, Ralph was the Head of Investor Relations at Peak Rock Capital, a leading middle-market private equity, credit and real estate investment firm based in Austin, TX. At Peak Rock, Ralph worked with some of the largest institutional limited partners in the world.  Prior to Peak Rock, Ralph was a member of the Investor Relations Team at Vista Equity Partners, where he was responsible for raising capital and managing investor relationships across all investor types and geographies and product management across Vista’s credit strategies. Prior to that, Ralph was with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in the Client & Partner Group working across the firm’s alternative product suite and helping to manage some of the firm’s largest strategic relationships. Ralph began his career at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York City.

Ralph holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University where he was also a member of the varsity football team. He has called Austin, TX home since 2017, along with his wife, Kaitlyn, and two young kiddos.

Ralph Debernardo

Aditya joined Sapphire Ventures in 2021 as a member of the growth investment team. Prior to Sapphire, Aditya worked on the FP&A team at Sapphire’s portfolio company, Outreach, where he helped drive the consolidated top-line forecasting and reporting function for the business and supported the Marketing organization with ongoing business planning. Aditya began his career at J.P. Morgan in the Technology M&A group where he helped advise large technology clients on an array of strategic initiatives including M&A, divestitures and partnerships.

Aditya graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Business Administration. Born and raised in the Bay Area, he enjoys playing basketball, traveling (adventure-style) and trying new foods.



Aditya Reddy

Andrew joined Sapphire Ventures as a member of the investment team in 2021. He focuses on the fintech and business application spaces and supports the firm’s capital market activities. He is based out of the Austin office.

Prior to joining Sapphire, Andrew was a product manager at Cameo (ask him about his favorite Cameos) and led special projects and data products at Homebase, where he worked with leading government agencies and news outlets to understand the impact of Covid-19. He began his career as a consultant at Bain & Company.

A native Texan, Andrew graduated from Stanford, where he studied political science and economics.

Andrew Vogeley

Iladro joined Sapphire Ventures as a member of the investment team in 2021. Prior to joining Sapphire, Iladro was a management consultant at Bain & Company in the firm’s Private Equity Group and Technology practice.

Iladro graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude from Brown University with bachelor’s degrees in economics and public health. He is originally from the Greater Boston area and continues to support his hometown sports teams.

Iladro Sauls

Charlie joined Sapphire Ventures as Chief of Staff in 2021. Previously, Charlie was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in the New York office. Specifically, he was a member of the Financial Sponsors Group, focused on M&A, debt, and equity transactions across industries on behalf of the firm’s private equity clients. He also held coverage responsibility for the direct investing teams of large institutional family offices, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, and other long-term investors.

Prior to business school, Charlie was a consultant at Brunswick Group, a global advisory firm focused on strategic and financial communications. Charlie earned a bachelor’s degree in government and business from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Charlie Rexford

Ellie Javadi is the CMO of Sapphire Ventures where she is responsible for overseeing firmwide marketing and communications initiatives.

Prior to Sapphire, she was the Head of Marketing and Vice President at Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) for seven years. While there, she oversaw the firm’s brand and marketing evolution with a focus on digital, social, and content initiatives.

Prior to Norwest, she spent a decade at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) where she led the communications function and was responsible for marketing, social media, content, and earned media initiatives for SRI and its spin-off companies (including launch and acquisition support for Siri, which was acquired by Apple). Early on, Ellie was head of communications at Agile Software and Ariba.

Over the course of her career, Ellie has provided strategic communications, branding and marketing counsel to hundreds of startups with a specific emphasis on launch and growth strategy.

She has served three terms as President of the Board of the Public Relations Society of America (Silicon Valley) and is President of the Board at the Pacific Art League (PAL) in Palo Alto.

Ellie earned her graduate and undergraduate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is active in CMU alumni affairs and hosts alumni events and dinners in Silicon Valley. She is an active marketing and brand advisor to the CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group supporting founders and CEOs on their journey.

She lives with her family in northern California, along with a middle-aged Frenchie. Her hobbies include painting, art collecting and connecting emerging artists with collectors.

Ellie Javadi

Margaret Phommachanh provides executive support to Shruti Tournatory and Abhishek Lahoti.

Prior to joining Sapphire, Margaret worked as an executive assistant at a New York City based asset management firm, Varagon Capital Partners. Before her experience in finance, Margaret worked at various agencies in the advertising industry, supporting mostly creative directors and their teams. Before living in New York, she taught English to kids as a language instructor while living abroad in Japan.

Margaret earned her BBA in Business M.I.S from [The University of Texas at Austin](/org/the-university-of-texas-at-austin). Born and raised in Texas, she just recently moved back from New York. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, travelling and loves all things design and tech.

Margaret Phommachanh

Alyce Goudeau provides executive support to Doug Higgins, Michael Spirito, and Chloe Steinberg. Prior to joining Sapphire, Alyce worked as an executive assistant for the Chicago based private equity firm [GTCR](/org/gtcr). She was also formerly an executive assistant at Moore Capital Management in New York City.

Alyce holds a BS from the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a focus on Health Studies. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and watching whatever sport happens to be in season. A Louisiana native, Alyce recently relocated to Austin, Texas and looks forward to exploring all Austin has to offer.

Sapphire Ventures

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Teams

Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Team

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