Sequoia Names Alfred Lin And Pat Grady As New Co-stewards As Roelof Botha Steps Down

Just complete 3 years aft taking nan reins arsenic nan leader of Sequoia Capital, Roelof Botha is stepping down arsenic Senior Steward of nan storied VC firm. The patient announced Tuesday that partners Alfred Lin and Pat Grady will win him arsenic co-Stewards.

Lin joined nan storied patient successful 2010, wherever he has led awesome investments into category-defining companies for illustration Airbnb, DoorDash, and Kalshi. Meanwhile, Pat Grady has been a partner for astir 19 years and has led Sequoia’s growth-stage investing since 2015, backing iconic companies specified arsenic ServiceNow, OpenAI, and nan ineligible AI level Harvey.

Botha assumed nan activity domiciled successful mid-2022 and instantly oversaw a play of upheaval. He took nan helm conscionable arsenic nan downturn decimated nan nationalist markets, severely slashing nan valuations of galore companies crossed Sequoia’s portfolio. The patient besides wrote disconnected $200 million when its finance successful cryptocurrency speech FTX blew up — a mini nonaccomplishment successful nan bigger strategy of things for Sequoia but a financial deed each nan same. Further, successful 2023, amid increasing governmental tensions betwixt nan U.S. and China and regulatory pressures connected some sides, Sequoia spun disconnected its India and China operations into separate independent firms. 

This year, Sequoia became embroiled successful a contention complete partner Shaun Maguire’s comments attacking New York City mayoral campaigner Zohran Mamdani, calling nan leader an “Islamist” who “comes from a civilization that lies astir everything.” Though Maguire later walked backmost immoderate of those remarks, they led to a sizable online backlash and debate. In August, Sequoia’s main operating officer, Sumaiya Balbale, a practicing Muslim, discontinue complete nan firm’s determination not to subject Maguire pursuing his remarks, arsenic first reported by nan Financial Times and confirmed past week during an on-stage sit-down pinch Botha during TechCrunch Disrupt. (Asked astir Balbale, Botha said that arsenic a matter of routine, Sequoia doesn’t remark connected unit matters and that he appreciated everything Balbale had contributed to nan firm.)

During that aforesaid interview, Botha maintained that his domiciled arsenic Senior Steward is not 1 of absolute command, stressing that different partners clasp astir arsenic overmuch powerfulness to steer nan firm’s direction. “My title is Steward for a logic — it’s conscionable a notch supra ‘usher’ successful nan dictionary,” he said. Then, successful a remark that drew laughter from attendees, he’d added: “It’s mostly because Global Supreme Leader wasn’t available.”

When TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos asked Botha who mightiness win him arsenic leader of nan patient fixed its historical accent connected ensuring soft hand-offs — Botha was himself promoted galore times connected his way to nan apical of nan patient — Botha responded that Lin, Grady, Luciana Lixandru, who leads Sequoia’s European investments, and Andrew Reed, a partner whose investments successful Figma and Klarna went nationalist this year, “have unthinkable extent and run arsenic a team.”

Botha besides pointed retired that each investor astatine Sequoia votes connected finance decisions. “We want nan triumph of ideas, not nan triumph of seniority,” he said.

The modulation news, however, suggests nan Steward position carries existent weight. While Sequoia has continued to rack up awesome finance wins during Botha’s tenure, nan activity alteration comes arsenic nan patient seeks to move past a challenging play into its adjacent phase.

Indeed, Sequoia, 1 of world’s astir salient task superior firms, precocious renovated its office, installing a wall wherever each investor handwrote this reminder: “We are only arsenic bully arsenic our adjacent investment.”

Last week, nan patient announced a $750 cardinal early-stage money targeting Series A startups, arsenic good arsenic a $200 cardinal seed fund.