Silicon Valley venture firm Accel Partners has hired mobile software expert Richard Wong as a partner, the latest sign of where investors think the action will be.
Wong spent six years at OpenWave, which developed early mobile browsers (WAP), and where Wong worked with mobile companies like Sorrent, Jamdat, Infospace and Motricity in their earliest stages and saw them grow quickly. He oversaw OpenWave’s marketing efforts, and more recently was head of its product division. (Here is his bio.)
The move is significant because one of Accel’s partners, Peter Fenton, left last year to Benchmark Capital. Fenton, a successful investor, focused on software, but not mobile software. Accel’s decision to hire Wong suggests it sees more promise in the wireless broadband going forward, although the firm said Wong isn’t meant to be seen as a direct replacement for Fenton. Wong, 37, worked earlier for Covad, a broadband provider. In a phone call with VentureBeat yesterday, he said he is most interested in latest wave of mobile technology, namely the transition to “rich media,” or AJAX and Flash-based programming, which improves a mobile user’s experience.
It is the latest move by Accel to shore up its staff. After Fenton left, Accel promoted Kevin Efrusy and Ping Li from to general partners. In November, it hired Richard Yanowitch as venture partner.
2 Comments
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Retief said:
Yeah Richard Wong spent 6 years at Openwave until he (and three other senior execs) got fired in August last year. In an unrelated note, here is a chart of Openwave’s stock price over the last year. I’d guess the McKinsey connection is a bigger deal than either Openwave or Covad.
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Anil said:
Rich talks a good game and has the Mckinsey sheen and “strategic” insights. But what did he accomplish at Covad and OPWV except getting promoted by managing well upward. Both companies did not fare well during his time. Will be interesting to see how successful he does in the vc world.
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In tit for tat, Accel snags Sameer Gandhi from rival Sequoia Capital » VentureBeat said:
[...] It has had 14 companies sold or gone public in two years, and added other partners, including Richard Wong, Andrew Braccia, venture partner In Sik Rhee, and executive in residence Dick [...]
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In tit for tat, Accel snags Sameer Gandhi from rival Sequoia Capital » VentureBeat said:
[...] It has had 14 companies sold or gone public in two years, and added other partners, including Richard Wong, Andrew Braccia, venture partner In Sik Rhee, and executive in residence Dick [...]