Chris joined USVP as a General Partner in 2004. He focuses on seed and early stage investments in the IT sector. Prior to USVP, Chris held the
position of CEO at Mahi Networks (2001-2004); Partner at Sequoia Capital (1998-2002); Senior Director of PLM at Carrier Access Corporation
(1997-1998, Nasdaq:CACS); Director of Marketing at Comcore (1996-1997, acquired by National); Principal Network Architect and founding member of
Time Warner Roadrunner (1994-1995, on loan from US WEST); Broadband Network Architect at US WEST (1992-1996); and Member of Technical Staff at
MITRE (1988-1992). He started working in high tech as an electrical engineer designing microwave FDM radio equipment for Nokia in Helsinki, Finland
(1987).
Chris believes teamwork is everything in Venture Capital. His investment philosophy is simple: find great people whose passion is building
companies from humble beginnings to address hyper-growth emerging market opportunities, help them navigate the inevitable bumps along the way in a
supportive and fair manner, and give them the space needed to execute. He views Venture Capital as a services business that exists to support the
true champions of the global IT economy - the startup entrepreneur. Chris is an active participant in the industries he invests in so he can help
accelerate sales success through proactive business development.
Chris is currently a Director of Akros Silicon (Power-over-Ethernet ICs), Dilithium Networks (transcoding
gateways), Dune Networks (networking ICs) StrataLight (40G optical transport), VeriWave (WLAN test gear),
and Zannel (instant media messaging service).
He also serves on the VC Advisory Board for the Fabless
Semiconductor Association (FSA), and is a member of the communications and networking societies of the IEEE.
Previously Chris was a Founding Director or active early stage investor in Abrizio (acquired by PMCS), Afara WebSystems (acquired by SUN), Avanex
(Nasdaq: AVNX), Commerce5 (acquired by DRIV), LVL7 Systems (acquired by BRCM), Mahi Networks (acquired by Meriton), Mellanox (Nasdaq:MLNX), Nexsi
(acquired by JNPR), SwitchOn Networks (acquired by PMCS), Santur (private), Syndesis (acquired by Subex Azure), Telera (acquired by ALA), and VxTel
(acquired by INTC). He has been a Director of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), was a founding member of the Cable Labs DOCSIS
cable modem standards body, and has been a contributor to the ADSL and ATM forums.
Chris earned a BSEE (87) and MSEE (89) from the University of Lowell, an MS Telecommunications Engineering (92) from the University of Colorado,
Boulder, and an MS Engineering Management (04) from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Chris taught graduate classes in computer networking and
communications theory as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado for five years while he lived in Boulder, Colorado. He holds
issued patents for a multi-service home gateway he invented as a design engineer at US WEST.
Chris's interests outside of work include skiing steep fresh powder, epic mountain bike rides, exploring the world and its many cultures with his
family. From a large Irish immigrant family, he spent his childhood in the historic seaport of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
ASSISTANT: Cynthia Sprock, 650.926.7761
U.S. Venture Partners
2735 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Telephone: (650) 854-9080
Fax: (650) 854-3018
www.usvp.com
