Kurt DelBene Joins Madrona Venture Group as Venture Partner

SEATTLE, Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Madrona Venture Group, an early-stage venture capital firm, announced today that Kurt DelBene is joining the firm as a Venture Partner.  DelBene worked for over two decades at Microsoft Corporation, leading large product and technical teams, most recently as President of the Microsoft Office Division. DelBene comes to Madrona after serving as the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, working to improve the federal government's online health insurance enrollment system, HealthCare.gov. 

As Venture Partner, DelBene will help identify new investments and work with Madrona portfolio companies on strategic and operational initiatives.

As a senior leader at Microsoft, DelBene was known for his ability to envision a broad product roadmap while engaging deeply in product design and details with development teams.  During his career with the Microsoft Office Division, DelBene drove multiple transformations of the Office product including the integration of communications and collaboration services and, most recently, the product and business model shifts required to create and launch Office 365 as a cloud based service. 

Following his planned departure from Microsoft last year, DelBene was appointed by President Obama to oversee the implementation of HeathCare.gov when issues with the site were reaching critical proportions in late 2013.  In this role he worked with government offices and contractors to improve the short term site performance as well as set a longer term vision and path for an expansive multi-year initiative. 

"Washington state is a hub of technology talent and innovation and Madrona is a key player in the ecosystem," said Kurt DelBene.  "I'm honored to work with the team here and with the portfolio companies who are changing how we work and live."

"Kurt's depth of experience leading large and complex projects, combining both product strategy and technical expertise, as well as successful go-to-market strategies is unparalleled," said Matt McIlwain, Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group.  "We are excited to have him dive into working with our current and future portfolio companies."

DelBene holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, a Masters of Science from Stanford and a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arizona.  DelBene is also on the Board of Trustees for Reed College in Portland, OR and on the board of Directors for Global Partnerships, a non-profit organization that works to expand opportunities for people living in poverty in developing countries. 

About Madrona Venture Group

Madrona (www.madrona.com) has been investing in early-stage technology companies in the Pacific Northwest since 1995 and has been privileged to play a role in some of the region's most successful technology ventures. The firm invests predominately in seed and Series A rounds across the information technology spectrum including consumer Internet, commercial software and services, digital media and advertising, networking and cloud computing, and mobile. Madrona manages nearly $1 billion and was an early investor in companies such as Amazon.com, Apptio, Isilon Systems, Sharebuilder, and Tier3. 

Media Contact: Erika Shaffer, [email protected], 206-972-5514

SOURCE Madrona Venture Group