FirstMark Capital, an early stage venture capital firm investing in technology and technology-enabled businesses, has appointed Andy Macdonald, Scott Switzer and Nick Marsh as venture partners.
Macdonald, Switzer and Marsh join FirstMark venture partners Larry Wilson, Sterling Phillips and Shabbir Dahod.
“Our venture partners bring deep, industry-specific knowledge and real-world experience to the FirstMark team and serve as invaluable, strategic assets to the firm, our portfolio companies and our investors,” says Lawrence D. Lenihan (pictured), chief executive and managing director of FirstMark Capital.
Macdonald was a member of the founding management team of First Advantage. During his time at First Advantage, he served as president of the employer services group, the largest provider of pre-employment background and drug screening, the investigative and litigation services group and the corporate development group. Currently, Macdonald is the president of CoreLogix’s investigative and litigation services. He will focus on data and information services investments at FirstMark.
Marsh will focus on consumer-oriented businesses at FirstMark, contributing his experience as a serial entrepreneur in the sector. He co-founded Xando which became Cosi where he served as president and chief operating officer, ultimately growing the business to more than 100 locations. Marsh is an active investor and serves as executive chairman at Chop’t Creative Salad Company, Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market and Allcoast Media, the largest online community for saltwater fishing.
Switzer is the founder of open source ad company OpenX, a provider of ad technology for web publishers. Switzer will seek new investment opportunities and work closely with existing portfolio companies with online marketing, software architecture and open-source strategy initiatives. Switzer is the co-founder of M3 Media Services and former chief technology officer of Unanimis Group, an online media company acquired by France Telecom in 2009.
