Venture Capital Firm Sequoia Capital Names New Leader

Sequoia Capital, one of the oldest and most successful venture capital firms, is changing up its leadership, a Financial Times report said Monday (April 4).

The firm is known for backing tech industry titans, including Apple and Google.

The new leader of the firm will be Roelof Botha, a partner with Sequoia who leads the U.S. and European operations. He’ll take over in July.

Doug Leone, the billionaire investor who runs the firm now, plans to retire at age 65.

Botha’s appointment marks a third “passing of the torch,” the report says, the third time it’s happened since Sequoia was founded in 1972 by Don Valentine, who was highly influential in the venture capital world.

With Botha’s appointment, the FT report said there has been a “delicate balance” shown in the organization between the U.S. and European operations on the one hand and the Chinese and Indian arms on the other.

Leone, writing in a letter to investors, said there will be limits for Botha’s role, which will leave him with a lack of direct control over the Chinese operation. Sequoia China, under Neil Shen, has backed several successful startups like ByteDance, Meituan and Pinduoduo. This has made Sequoia’s global sharing of profits and power a “constant source of speculation” for those watching the company.

Sequoia has reportedly gotten rid of the global managing partner title that predecessors had. Instead, Botha will be “senior steward” for the company, and will “set the overall tone” for the company, according to Leone.

Read more: Turkey’s Rapid Delivery Service Getir Eyes $800M in Funding

PYMNTS wrote that one recent Sequoia investment was to Getir, a Turkish delivery startup which raised $800 million in a funding round from the firm and others.

The round came with a $250 million check from Mubadala, which was the lead investor, and Tiger Global was another investor involved.

The pandemic has seen lots of money headed for delivery firms, including others like Flink and Gopuff.