Top Google / RIM Executives Join Canada's iNovia Capital To Transform Growth Investing
The Firm Also Announces Expansion Into Europe
MONTREAL, April 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - iNovia Capital, a leading venture capital firm with over a decade of investment experience in backing high-growth technology startups, today announced Patrick Pichette (former CFO Alphabet/Google) and Dennis Kavelman (former CFO/COO RIM/Blackberry) have joined as General Partners. In addition to strengthening its team, iNovia is expanding internationally, opening an office in London and broadening its scope into growth investing.
"We have been supporting our portfolio of innovative high-growth companies, including Lightspeed POS, WorkFusion, AppDirect, Clearpath Robotics and Top Hat, with both capital and insights for years," said Chris Arsenault, General Partner at iNovia Capital. "While the costs of starting a company have never been lower, the challenges in scaling businesses have never been more complex. We believe that startups need a full-stack venture capital firm that can grow with them. Patrick and Dennis both bring a hard-to-match expertise of scaling businesses."
About the new General Partners:
Patrick Pichette has 25+ years of operational experience, including seven years at Google as Senior Vice President & CFO, where he oversaw finance and most corporate functions and actively participated in the creation of the Alphabet structure. Pichette was involved in more than 200 successful acquisitions, including Motorola Mobility ($12.5B), Nest ($3.2B) and Waze ($1.3B). He is a board member of Twitter and investor and partner in Kenauk Nature.
Dennis Kavelman helped grow RIM from just a few employees to over 14,000 people worldwide and $15B in revenue as VP of Finance/CFO, COO and Special Advisor. He is a former COO of Desire2Learn and a founding partner of Creative Destruction Lab (CDL). Kavelman is also angel investor and board member of Vidyard and Thalmic Labs and a founder of The Kavelman Fonn Foundation.
Canadian venture capital firms including iNovia have been at the forefront of a boom in growth VC, which tripled between 2014 and 2017. These key hires solidify iNovia's leadership in investing in technological innovation in North America and internationally. Building on the momentum and as part of its expansion strategy, iNovia is entering the European market by opening a London office, in addition to its Montreal and Toronto locations. The firm is also expanding its presence in San Francisco by adding several team members.
"Today, great companies can scale from zero to multinational status in just a few years," said Patrick Pichette, General Partner, iNovia Capital. "When startups hit their hyper-growth stage, founders are confronted with high-stakes issues from all fronts. I look forward to mentoring and coaching them to help successfully navigate the many challenges of exponential growth."
Dennis Kavelman, General Partner, iNovia Capital added, "Over the next decade, massive technological innovations, including machine learning, will completely redefine industries. Many of the world's top founders will come from Canada — a hotbed in AI innovation — as well as the U.S. and the U.K. By leveraging iNovia's extensive reach and its proven acceleration practices we have a rare opportunity to turn these companies into global leaders."
About iNovia Capital
iNovia is a full-stack venture capital firm that partners with audacious founders to build enduring technology companies. We seek to transform venture capital by perfecting the craft of investing in people first. We roll up our sleeves to serve founders with dedicated mentorship, a global talent network and structured strategies for hyper-growth. Together, we rewrite the rules of old industries, push technology frontiers and pursue bold visions for a better future. iNovia manages $500M across three funds, and holds offices in Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and London. For more information, visit www.inovia.vc.
SOURCE iNovia Capital
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