Xconomy is sad to report that Keith Grinstein, a major figure in the Seattle-area innovation community, passed away suddenly last night from an apparent heart attack. He was 48. Grinstein was a founding partner in Seattle-based Second Avenue Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology deals. He was also a strategic advisor for Madrona Venture Group. We will be posting further details and reactions as we hear them.
Grinstein served as chairman of Coinstar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CSTR]]), director of F5 Networks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FFIV]]), and director of Labor Ready (NYSE: [[ticker:LRW]]). According to the Second Avenue Partners website, he had played a role in structuring and/or investing in numerous private companies including Amazon, aQuantive, Tegic, HouseValues, Nordstrom.com, Insitu, Neah Power, and Seattle Biodiesel. Prior to Second Avenue Partners, he had also held senior management and operating positions at Wireless Services, Nextel International, Nextel Communications, McCaw Cellular, and AT&T Wireless.
Grinstein graduated from Yale University in 1982 and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. magna cum laude, in 1986. He was a member of the State of Washington and New York Bar Associations.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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