Mike Moritz, John Doerr. John Doerr, Mike Moritz. It seems like those two Silicon Valley names perennially head Forbes’ Midas List of top VCs, often taking turns in the No. 1 spot. This year (like last year, though) it’s Doerr, of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in the first position, with Moritz of Sequoia Capital at number two.
And, indeed, a quick look at this year’s list (it came out late last week) finds it dominated by Valley VCs. But where are the Boston and other New England investors with the Midas touch? Well, they didn’t do great—but they didn’t fare badly, either.
The top-ranked person based in New England was Doug Fambrough of Oxford Bioscience Partners in Boston. He ranked No. 22, up from 39 last year. A couple spots behind him at No. 24 was Nicholas Galakatos, a managing director of Clarus Ventures in Cambridge, MA. Right on his tails, just one spot back, was Ann Lamont, a managing partner at Oak Investment Partners in Westport, CT.
All told, I counted 15 New England-based VCs in the top 100 on the Forbes list. Another dozen, though—most working in Silicon Valley or New York, although one was in London—are from firms either based in New England or with substantial operations here. For instance, Aneel Bhusri of Waltham-based Greylock Partners ranked No. 8, but he works in San Mateo, CA.
The firm with the most New Englanders on the list was Matrix Partners, which had three partners from its Waltham office make the grade. The New England-tied firm with the most names on the list was Bessemer Venture Partners, which has offices in Wellesley Hills. But all six of the Bessemer people listed appear to work out of NY or CA. Interestingly, no one from big firms Polaris Venture Partners, General Catalyst, or Highland Capital Partners made the top 100.
You can find the full list here. Below are my lists, first of New England-based VCs on the Midas roster and below that of those whose firms are headquartered or have substantial operations in New England. Please drop a comment if I missed someone.
New England-Based VCs on the 2009 Midas List
22 — Doug Fambrough, Oxford Biosciences (Boston)
24 — Nicholas Galakatos, Clarus Ventures (Cambridge)
25 — Ann Huntress Lamont, Oak Investment Partners (Westport, CT)
29 — C. Kevin Landry, TA Associations (Boston)
42— Bruce R. Evans, Summit Partners (Boston)
47 — Rob L. Soni, Matrix Partners (Waltham, MA)
48 — Bruce I. Sachs, Charles River Ventures (Waltham, MA)
53 — James Wade, M/C Venture Partners (Boston)
60 — Christopher Baldwin, Charles River Ventures (Waltham, MA)
76 — Jean George, Advanced Technology Ventures (Waltham, MA)
86— Barry Fidelman, Atlas Venture (Waltham, MA)
87 — Bob Hower, Advanced Technology Ventures (Waltham, MA)
91 — Santo Politi, Spark Capital (Boston)
92 — David Skok, Matrix Partners, (Waltham, MA)
99 — Paul J. Ferri, Matrix Partners, (Waltham, MA)
Those from firms with substantial New England operations
8 — Aneel Bhusri, Greylock Partners
19 — Gregory R. Gresch, Sigma Partners
27 — Robert Stavis, Bessemer Venture Partners
33 — Robert P. Goodman, Bessemer Venture Partners
38 — G. Felda Hardymon, Bessemer Venture Partners
46 — J. Edmund Colloton, Bessemer Venture Partners
67 — David J. Cowan, Bessemer Venture Partners
70 — Deepak Kamra, Canaan Partners
73 — Walter G. Kortschak, Summit Partners
83 — Jonathan W. Meeks, TA Associates
88 — Rob Chandra, Bessemer Venture Partners
94 — Shirish Sathaye, Matrix Partners
