Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), a USD4 billion global venture capital firm, has promoted Kristina Shen to Vice President. In this role, Kristina will continue to work closely with BVP's investing partners to identify entrepreneurial opportunities in startups aligned with cloud computing, mobile and Internet sectors.
Based in San Francisco, Kristina joined the firm in 2013 with a focus on the cloud-computing and internet sectors. Kristina is involved in Bessemer’s investments in Adaptive Insights, ClearCare, DoubleDutch, Gainsight, Instructure, ServiceTitan, Speakeasy, Twilio and Vidyard. She is a Board Observer for ClearCare, DoubleDutch, Instructure, Retail Solutions, ServiceTitan and Vidyard, and a co-founder and board member for SpeakEasy. With Byron Deeter, Kristina co-authors Bessemer’s State of the Cloud Report, which captures the top trends among leading public and private cloud computing and enterprise mobile companies. The pair also produces Bessemer’s Cloud Index, which tracks the top public cloud computing companies, and is used by major media outlets, analysts and thought leaders to understand the health of the sector. An expert in the field, Kristina’s contributions to Bessemer and the startup ecosystem earned her a slot in Business Insider’s 2014 “30 and Under” list of Rising Stars who find Hot Startup Deals in Silicon Valley.
“I've worked closely with Kristina on investments, portfolio company projects, and research in the cloud and mobile sectors,” says Byron Deeter, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Her industry expertise and operational insight make her instantly credible with entrepreneurs, and her sharp intuition and fun demeanour make her a pleasure to work with over the long term. She’s been a great addition to Bessemer and we are happy to celebrate her contributions with this accelerated promotion.”
Before joining Bessemer, Kristina worked in the finance world as an investor at JMI Equity, and investment banker at both Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. Her experience includes working on the IPOs of Palo Alto Networks, Zynga, Fusion-io and Infoblox, as well as the sale of Q1 Labs to IBM and Goldman Sachs’ investment in Kno, Inc. Kristina graduated with a BA in Operations Research and Management Science from UC Berkeley. She is engaged to Gautam Gupta and will be married in August.
