NEA Names Tony Florence and Peter Sonsini General Partners; Tom Grossi and Justin Klein Promoted to Partner

CHEVY CHASE, Md., Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), a leading global venture capital firm, today announced the promotions of four members of its investing team:  Tony Florence to General Partner, Peter Sonsini to General Partner, Tom Grossi to Partner, and Justin Klein to Partner.

Tony Florence joined NEA in 2008 and co-leads the firm's venture growth equity practice. His current investments include Care.com, Cvent, EverFi, Gilt Groupe, Lot 18 and Moda Operandi. Tony led NEA's investment in Quidsi (Diapers.com, soap.com), which was acquired by Amazon in 2011.

Peter Sonsini joined NEA in 2005 and co-leads the firm's Enterprise Infrastructure and Services practice. His current investments include Apprenda, BeachMint, BuzzMedia, Conviva, Embrane, Engine Yard, Eucalyptus Systems, Lithium Technologies, MapR, Splashtop and Tintri. Pete previously led NEA's investments in Xensource (acquired by Citrix Systems) and Teracent (acquired by Google).

"Tony and Pete have demonstrated outstanding leadership and investment judgment and we're very pleased to recognize the important role each plays in our firm's strategy and success," said Peter J. Barris, Managing General Partner of NEA. "Both bring a depth of experience and passion for aiding entrepreneurs in building transformational companies that is an invaluable asset to the firm."  

Tom Grossi joined NEA in 2005 and is focused on investments in enterprise technology, digital media and e-commerce. He is a director of Apprenda, Lot18, newBrandAnalytics and Poggled and is involved with NEA's investments in Data Robotics, MediaBank, Millennial Media and ViXS. He also worked closely with Echo Global Logistics, Groupon, Innerworkings and Vertica.

Justin Klein joined NEA in 2006 and is focused on the medical device and biopharma sectors. He is a director of CV Ingenuity, PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Ulthera, VertiFlex, and VytronUS; he also serves as a board observer for Carticept Medical, ExploraMed, Moximed, Sensors for Medicine and Science, TriVascular and Vibrynt.

"These promotions continue a long trend of recognizing and rewarding individuals within NEA who prove themselves to be great investors and great partners," added Mr. Barris. "We appreciate the many contributions each has made to the firm, and we look forward to their continued success at NEA."

About NEA

New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a leading venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA invests in information technology, healthcare and energy technology companies at all stages in a company's lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's long track record includes more than 170 portfolio company IPOs and more than 290 acquisitions, including investments in technology leaders like Data Domain, CareerBuilder, Diapers.com, Fusion-io, Groupon, Juniper, Macromedia, Playdom, Salesforce.com, and TiVo. In the U.S., NEA has two offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and one in Menlo Park, California. In addition, New Enterprise Associates (India) Pvt. Ltd. has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, India and New Enterprise Associates (Beijing), Ltd. has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China. For additional information, visit www.nea.com.

SOURCE New Enterprise Associates, Inc.