Sequoia names Alfred Lin and Pat Grady as new Co-Stewards as Roelof Botha steps down

Just three years after taking the reins as Sequoia Capital’s top leader, Roelof Botha is stepping down as senior steward of the storied VC firm. The firm announced Tuesday that partners Alfred Lynn and Pat Grady will replace him as co-stewards..

Lin joined the storied firm in 2010, where he led major investments in category-defining companies such as Airbnb, DoorDash and Kalshi. Meanwhile, Pat Grady has been a partner for nearly 19 years and has led Sequoia’s growth-stage investments since 2015, backing iconic companies like ServiceNow, OpenAI and legal AI platform Harvey.

Botha assumed the highest leadership role By mid-2022 And immediately monitor a period of unrest. He took over as the recession decimated the public markets, severely reducing the valuations of many companies across Sequoia’s portfolio. The organization too 200 million dollars closed When the cryptocurrency exchange blew its investment in FTX — a smaller loss in Sequoia’s larger scheme but a financial hit all the same. Further, in 2023, amid rising political tensions between the US and China and regulatory pressure from both sides, Sequoia shut down its India and China operations. separate Independent organizations.

This year, Sequoia became embroiled in controversy over comments by partner Sean Maguire attacking New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, calling the politician an “Islamist” who “comes from a culture that lies about everything.” Although Maguire later walked back some of those comments, they led to a Huge online response and debate. In August, Sequoia’s chief operating officer, Sumayya Balbele, a practicing Muslim, resigned over the firm’s decision not to discipline Maguire following his comments, as first reported by the Financial Times and discussed during negotiations last week. sitting on stage With Botha during TechCrunch Disrupt.

When asked about Balbele, Botha said that as a matter of routine, Sequoia does not comment on staff and he appreciates what Balbele has contributed to the firm. When asked about Maguire, Botha said that, “Internally, we celebrate different opinions and we need spiky people inside the Sequoia.”

Botha continued, “We have some partners who are very active in philanthropy or something [other] Personal transactions, and they are not as vocal on social media as Sean. And we have always respected each of our individual partners’ right to free speech.”

During the same interview, Botha maintained that his role as senior steward is not one of absolute command, insisting that other partners have almost as much power to drive the firm’s direction. “My title is steward for a reason – it’s just a notch above ‘usher’ in the dictionary,” he said. Then, in a comment that drew laughter from those present, he added: “It’s mostly because the Global Supreme Leader wasn’t available.”

When TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos asked Botha who might replace him given the firm’s historic emphasis on ensuring smooth hand-offs as leader — Botha himself was promoted numerous times on his way to the top of his firm — Botha responded that Lin, Grady, Luciana Lixandru, who lead European investment partners, Sequoia, Reuma and Reuwe Investments. And Klarna revealed this year, “Having incredible depth and working as a team.”

Botha also noted that every investor in Sequoia votes on investment decisions. “We want a victory of ideas, not a victory of seniority,” he said.

Transition news, however, carries the real weight of the steward position. While Sequoia continues to win big investments under Botha’s tenure, the leadership change comes as the firm looks to navigate a challenging period in its next phase.

In fact, Sequoia, one of the world’s leading venture capital firms, recently renovated its office, installing a wall where each investor hand-wrote this reminder: “We are only as good as our next investment.”

Last week, the company Dr announcement A $750 million early-stage fund targeting Series A startups, as well as a $200 million seed fund.