SAN BRUNO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--VantagePoint Venture Partners, one of the nation's leading venture
capital firms, today announced the expansion of its investment team
with the appointments of venture capital industry veterans Tom
Bevilacqua and Bill Harding as Managing Directors and Co-Heads of the
Information Technology Practice Group, Craig Cooper as Venture Partner
in the Information Technology Practice Group, and Dave Thompson as
Venture Partner in the Healthcare Practice Group. These additions
expand the breadth and depth of the Firm's multi-disciplinary
expertise and sector focus.
"Tom, Bill, Craig, and Dave bring extensive venture capital,
entrepreneurial and operations expertise to assist portfolio companies
through the critical stages of development from idea to IPO and
beyond. VantagePoint invests in companies that have can have a
significant impact - or transform - their industries on a global
scale, and we have assembled a team that knows how to accelerate and
manage large scale growth," said Alan Salzman, Managing Partner,
VantagePoint Venture Partners.
VantagePoint's investment team is currently comprised of 40
investment professionals, including 26 Managing Directors and Venture
Partners, and is complemented by world class advisory councils and
strategic relationships with global corporations. The Firm invests in
entrepreneurial companies at all stages in the CleanTech, Healthcare
and Information Technology sectors and is currently working with such
game changing companies as Anthera Pharmaceuticals, BrightSource
Energy, Gain Capital, ReachLocal, Tesla Motors and WageWorks.
Tom Bevilacqua, Managing Director and Co-Head Information
Technology Practice Group
Mr. Bevilacqua has more than 25 years of Silicon Valley experience
as an executive, venture investor and advisor to technology driven
companies. He co-founded ArrowPath Venture Partners, a successful
early stage venture capital fund, and has served as a Managing Partner
of that firm for the past seven years. Prior to ArrowPath, he served
as an Executive Vice President of E*TRADE Financial, where he
established E*TRADE's acquisition and investment strategies. He was
previously a Partner at two of Silicon Valley's leading law firms and
has served as an advisor to more than 200 public or private
financings. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley
(BS) and University of California, Hastings (JD).
Bill Harding, Managing Director and Co-Head Information Technology
Practice Group
Dr. Harding has more than 20 years of experience in venture
capital. He joined VantagePoint from Morgan Stanley Venture Partners
where he was a Managing Member and led key investments such as
InterNAP Network Services. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Dr.
Harding was a General Partner of several venture capital partnerships
affiliated with J. H. Whitney & Co. Previously he was with Amdahl
Corporation serving in various technical and business development
roles and also held several technical positions with Honeywell
Information Systems. He is a graduate of University of Arizona (BS and
MS) and Arizona State University (PhD). He also served as an officer
in the Military Intelligence Branch of the United States Army Reserve.
Craig Cooper, Venture Partner
Mr. Cooper was formerly a Partner at Softbank Capital where he led
the West Coast Digital Media and Wireless Investment Group. Prior to
joining SoftBank Capital he was the co-founder of Boost Mobile USA,
which was sold to Nextel Communications. He also co-founded the
independent energy companies NRG Asia-Pacific and Private Energy
Partners, which developed and owned over $5 billion (AUD) in energy
projects in the Asia Pacific region. As part of the Information
Technology Practice Group, Mr. Cooper will be focusing on digital
media, wireless and consumer Internet investments as well as
supporting a broad range of VantagePoint's portfolio companies. He
holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Laws (Honors) from the
University of Sydney.
David Thompson, Venture Partner
Mr. Thompson joins VantagePoint following a successful 30-year
career with Eli Lilly and its affiliates: He most recently led the
corporate strategy, business development, corporate ventures, finance
and investment banking, and alliance management organizations within
the company prior to his retirement. Mr. Thompson joined Eli Lilly in
1971, and throughout the 1970s, held numerous positions in sales,
marketing research, sales management, and new product planning and
licensing. He was named President and General Manager of Eli Lilly
Canada, a Lilly affiliate, in November 1985 and president/CEO of IVAC
Corporation, a medical device subsidiary. He served as vice president
of pharmaceutical product management and business development from
1988-1992. Mr. Thompson is a graduate of Michigan State University
(BS, MBA).
About VantagePoint Venture Partners
VantagePoint Venture Partners provides creative growth strategies
and capital to companies transforming global markets. With more than
$4.0 billion of capital under management, the Firm invests in
entrepreneurial companies at all stages of development in the
CleanTech, Healthcare, and Information Technology sectors.
VantagePoint partners with talented entrepreneurs who are seeking to
build companies that are world-scale in both size and substance. The
Firm has created a network of thought leaders and strategic partners
with some of the world's leading corporations to provide portfolio
companies with a unique advantage to accelerate growth. VantagePoint
Venture Partners: Creative Capital for Transformative Companies. For
more information, visit www.vpvp.com.
VantagePoint Venture Partners
Tracy Barba, 650-624-1596
tbarba@vpvp.com
Copyright Business Wire 2007
