Highland Capital Partners Strengthens Consumer Internet and Digital
Media Practice with New Partner
MENLO PARK, Calif.,
Nov. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/
-- Highland Capital Partners, a venture capital firm focused
on putting the entrepreneur first, today announced Manish Patel as a Partner in its Menlo Park office.
After spending nearly seven years at Google building the
products and teams responsible for many of the company's key
product offerings, from AdWords and AdSense, to Google TV and
Google Maps, Patel joined Highland in late 2010 to extend the
firm's reach into the Bay Area entrepreneurial community. His
background in engineering and design has been instrumental in
growing the firm's local portfolio, with active involvement in Leap
Motion and Game Closure, among several other companies. In his new
role as Partner, Patel's efforts will be dedicated towards growing
the firm's Consumer Internet, Mobile and Digital Media practice,
with a key focus on the emerging market of companies that use
technology to solve problems at a human scale.
"Manish's background of business strategy, design and
engineering make him a unique member of the Highland team," said
Peter Bell, General Partner at
Highland. "His capacity to discover and advise the exceptional
talent that's a trademark of Silicon Valley is unmatched. We're
very fortunate to have him at Highland and look forward to his
continued success at the firm."
"Manish introduced us to Highland and has been a true extension
of the Leap Motion team ever since," said Michael Buckwald, co-founder and CEO of Leap
Motion. "Not only can he offer strategic advice, but he also sees
things through a product and user experience lens, enabling him to
give invaluable input from both ends of the spectrum. He has been
one of our biggest allies as we continue to grow and prepare for
one of the most challenging yet exciting stages of our
company."
Highland continues to invest in building its team in Silicon
Valley to better serve its portfolio and the many dynamic and
innovative entrepreneurs that are turning high-growth companies
into category-defining leaders. Along with the addition of Manish
to its Partner team, Alex Taussig, a
Principal at Highland since 2009, recently relocated to the
Menlo Park office. Amy White, who spent over three years helping
build the brand of Box, also joined in October as Director of
Marketing.
"Highland has allowed me to take everything I loved doing at
Google – building teams and creating products that solve real
problems – and apply it to companies and young entrepreneurs that
are in early stages of development, which I find extremely
rewarding," said Patel. "The team at Highland has been great to
work with and shares my passion for putting the entrepreneur first.
I look forward to helping extend those values and culture to the
Silicon Valley startup community."
About Highland Capital Partners
Founded in 1988,
Highland Capital Partners is a global venture capital firm focused
on putting the entrepreneur first. With over $3 billion of committed capital and offices in
Menlo Park, Cambridge, Geneva, London and Shanghai, Highland has invested in more than
225 companies, resulting in category-defining businesses across
Mobile, Consumer Internet and Enterprise technology. Investments
include 2U, Ask Jeeves, Bromium, Calxeda, Leap Motion, LevelUp,
Lycos, MapQuest, Nebula, QD Vision, Qihoo 360, Quattro Wireless,
RentJuice, Rent the Runway, Sybase, Violin Memory, VistaPrint and
WePay. Highland also serves as a mentor for future entrepreneurs
through Summer@HIGHLAND, a program that provides students and
university-affiliated startups with the environment and resources
to take their initiatives to the next level. For more
information, visit www.hcp.com.
SOURCE Highland Capital Partners