Terry McGuire of Polaris Venture Partners Elected NVCA Chairman

BOSTON, MA, Apr 30 (MARKET WIRE) --
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today named Terry
McGuire, co-founder and managing partner of Polaris Venture Partners, as
its 2009-2010 chairman of the board of directors. The announcement was
made at the 2009 NVCA Annual Meeting today in Boston at the Westin Boston
Waterfront Hotel.

"Although the NVCA has long been an advocate for public policies that
encourage innovation and economic growth, our work today is as important
as ever. It is critical that the government and the venture capital
industry continue working together to support risk-taking and long term
investment so that we as investors can continue to create new jobs and
bring breakthrough technologies to market," said McGuire. "The venture
industry is poised to play an important role in our country's economic
recovery and I am honored to help lead the Association at such an
important time."

Mr. McGuire succeeds Dixon Doll of DCM, who completed his one-year term as
2008-2009 chairman. Mr. Doll played a leadership role in the development
of the NVCA's recommendations to mend the nation's capital market system
for venture-backed companies.

"Over the last year, Dixon Doll has been instrumental in his position as
chairman in bringing together leading players within the capital markets
ecosystem to identify and analyze root problems associated with the
venture-backed IPO market. The recommendations that were developed from
his fine work will serve as a cornerstone for our approach to this
paramount issue going forward," said Mark Heesen, NVCA president. "We also
find ourselves extremely fortunate to welcome Terry McGuire to the
position of chairman for the next year. Terry's deep understanding of the
venture capital industry and his commitment to promoting important public
policies will serve our industry very well. As a former serial
entrepreneur and a long time life sciences venture investor, Terry brings
a well-rounded perspective that will be instrumental in communicating our
views on various issues."

The NVCA also elected six new incoming board members. They are Michael
Elliott, Noro-Moseley Partners; Michael Greeley, Flybridge Capital
Partners; Josh Green, Mohr, Davidow Ventures; James Marver, VantagePoint
Venture Partners; Jason Mendelson, Foundry Group; and Sherrill Neff,
Quaker BioVentures. Additionally, Kate Mitchell of Scale Venture Partners
was named NVCA Chairwoman elect for 2010-11.

Retiring from the NVCA board of directors after successfully completing
their four year terms during which time they were instrumental in moving
forward the policies and activities of the NVCA are Dan Broderick, Prolog
Ventures; Tom Crotty, Battery Ventures; Rob Soni, Matrix Partners; David
Spreng Crescendo Ventures; and Bess Weatherman, Warburg Pincus.

About Terry McGuire

Prior to forming Polaris Venture Partners, Terry spent seven years at
Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. investing in early stage medical and information
technology companies. Terry began his career in venture capital at Golder,
Thoma and Cressey in Chicago.

Terry has co-founded three companies: Inspire Pharmaceuticals, AIR
(Advanced Inhalation Research, Inc.), and MicroCHIPS. He currently
represents Polaris on the boards of directors of Acceleron Pharma, AdiMAB,
Arsenal Medical Inc., Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Life Line Screening,
MicroCHIPS, Inc., Pulmatrix Inc., Tempo Pharmaceuticals and Trevena, Inc.

In addition to his chairmanship at NVCA, Terry serves on the boards of the
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College (Chair); MIT's The David
H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and The Arthur Rock
Center for Entrepreneurship at HBS.

Terry earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, MS in engineering from
The Thayer School at Dartmouth College, and BS in physics and economics
from Hobart College. He is a recipient of the Albert Einstein Award for
Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences, awarded by Forbes/Gottlieb
Medical Technology Investor, Harvard MIT Biomedical Engineering Center,
the New Jerusalem Foundation, the Jerusalem Development Authority, and
Rodman and Renshaw.

About National Venture Capital Association

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) represents approximately
450 venture capital firms in the United States. NVCA's mission is to
foster greater understanding of the importance of venture capital to the
U.S. economy and support entrepreneurial activity and innovation.
According to a 2009 Global Insight study, venture-backed companies
accounted for 12.1 million jobs and $2.9 trillion in revenue in the
United States in 2008. The NVCA represents the public policy interests of
the venture capital community, strives to maintain high professional
standards, provides reliable industry data, sponsors professional
development, and facilitates interaction among its members. For more
information about the NVCA, please visit www.nvca.org.

Contact:

Channa Brooks
Middleberg Communications
202-641-6959
cbrooks@middlebergcommunications.com

Emily Mendell
NVCA
610-565-3904
emendell@nvca.org

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