New York-based Millennium Technology Value Partners has added Alex Ferrara as a partner, focusing on investments in Internet companies, and in companies working in financial services and digital technology. Previously, Ferrara spent six years with Bessemer Venture Partners, where he was a Partner.
PRESS RELEASE:
Millennium Technology Value Partners announced today that Alex Ferrara has joined the firm as a Partner. His initial focus will be on investments in internet companies and the new generation of businesses positioned at the intersection of financial services and digital technology. Prior to Millennium, Alex spent six years with Bessemer Venture Partners where he was a Partner in that firm’s New York office.
“We are in the process of carrying out a significant expansion of our business, launching multiple new initiatives, and strengthening our team at all levels,” said Sam Schwerin, Millennium Managing Partner. “Alex brings unique investment talents, deep knowledge of key growth sectors, and valuable experience working with extraordinary entrepreneurs and high growth companies. He will add substantial firepower to our organization at a time when we are experiencing tremendous resonance between our strategy and marketplace conditions.”
Schwerin went on to point out, “At Millennium, we have spent the last decade honing our skills and developing our leadership in providing alternative liquidity solutions for venture-backed companies and their shareholders. Now that 2011 has dawned as ‘the year of alternative liquidity,’ with almost every leading private company exploring alternative liquidity ideas, Alex will be able to take our products and solutions into new sectors and new world-class private technology companies.”
Alex Ferrara noted: “I am extremely excited to join the Millennium team. We are witnessing an explosion of important new technology companies, many of which are creating tremendous value in short periods of time and with more capital efficiency than ever. As the venture capital industry evolves to accommodate the unique needs of this next generation of leading entrepreneurs, Millennium’s experience in alternative liquidity transactions will address an important priority among founders, management teams, and early investors.”
Millennium has experienced a steady stream of IPO and M&A events recently, including four IPOs in the last seven months alone (Green Dot, NetSpend, RigNet, and Epocrates) and company sales including ArcSight (acquired by Hewlett-Packard), Airvana (sold to a private equity group), PlaySpan (whose sale to Visa was announced last month), and HauteLook (whose sale to Nordstrom was also recently announced).
Over the last decade, Millennium has completed 300 transactions, including investments in world-leading technology companies such as Facebook, Chegg, Twitter, Green Dot, Zappos, eHarmony, ArcSight, Epocrates, Tellme Networks, NetSpend, PlaySpan, Wayport, Airvana, RigNet, Acronis, LiveOps, Datapipe, Rearden Commerce, iPass, HauteLook, and many others.
Millennium also announced the addition of a new Principal, Joseph Marks. According to Managing Partner Dan Burstein, “Joe Marks is spearheading a new initiative we have undertaken to address more holistically the growing interest in liquidity solutions on the part of many of our transaction partners, including family offices and endowments, as well as corporate and end-of-life venture funds. Joe brings highly relevant experience with him from 17 years of venture capital and alternative asset investing, including the most recent phase of his career at Coller Capital. The additions of Alex Ferrara and Joe Marks add strength, talent, and resources to our already very strong team. We expect to continue investing in and building our human capital as we expand our platform and take on new initiatives.”
About Millennium
Millennium Technology Value Partners has been a leading provider of growth capital to many of the world’s best technology companies and their shareholders for more than a decade. With access to more than half a billion dollars for investments, Millennium is an active investor in growth equity and venture debt transactions, as well as in the emerging multibillion dollar market for institutional-quality shareholder liquidity programs.
Millennium’s most recent fund is the largest fund focused specifically on providing alternative liquidity solutions to the shareholders of venture-backed companies. In total, Millennium has completed 300 investments involving leading technology companies. These include Facebook, Chegg, Twitter, Green Dot, Zappos, eHarmony, ArcSight, Epocrates, Tellme Networks, NetSpend, PlaySpan, Wayport, Airvana, RigNet, Acronis, LiveOps, Datapipe, Rearden Commerce, iPass, HauteLook, and many others.
Millennium is headquartered in New York City and managed by Sam Schwerin and Dan Burstein, who joined forces after working together at The Blackstone Group in order to create a family of funds designed to address the emerging needs of the venture capital ecosystem, including growth capital, venture debt and alternative shareholder liquidity. For more information, visit: www.MTVLP.com
Additional background on Alex Ferrara
Alex Ferrara joins Millennium after six years at Bessemer Venture Partners, where he was a Partner in that firm’s New York office.
Alex has been involved with a wide variety of innovative companies over the last decade, including board service with Yodle (local advertising), Shopify (e-commerce), Wix (web content creation tools), SelectMinds (social networking), Quadriserv (securities lending marketplace), and OMGPOP (multiplayer games). Alex was also involved with Bessemer’s investments in Pure Networks (acquired by Cisco), Skype (acquired by Ebay), SiteAdvisor (acquired by McAfee), Activ Financial, TeamViewer, Gerson Lehrman Group, and Goal.com (recently acquired by Perform Group).
Earlier in his career Alex worked at Goldman Sachs in technology investment banking, where he was involved in merger advisory and corporate finance, primarily in the IT-services and software sectors. While earning his MBA, Alex also worked as a part-time associate at both Apax Partners and RRE. Alex started his career as a software engineer at Salomon Brothers and later worked as a derivatives trader on the New York Board of Trade.
Alex holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, and a BSE in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He co-authored the O’Reilly & Associates book, Programming .NET Web Services.
Millennium Technology Value Partners | Sam Schwerin, 646-521-7800 | Managing | Partner | or | Dan Burstein, 646-521-7800 | Managing Partner | info@MTVLP.com | SOURCE: Millennium Technology Value Partners
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