Sequoia Capital shakes things up with leadership change

Sequoia Capital's new co-stewards, Pat Grady and Alfred Lin, plan to deepen the venture capital firm's focus on artificial intelligence while working to reframe its image as less politically partisan following concerns among some partners about the leadership of Roelof Botha, according to people familiar with the matter.

- BY KATE CLARK

Last week Sequoia surprised the VC world when it announced Botha would make way for new leaders, Lin, 53, and Grady, 43. Lin and Grady have been the key investors behind many of Sequoia's most lucrative bets in AI and elsewhere, including OpenAI, Airbnb Inc. and Snowflake Inc. The decision was unanimous and made by partners including Botha and former stewards.

The firm is famously secretive about how it manages leadership transitions — one person close to Sequoia described the recent vote as similar to establishing the next pope.

But Botha's departure followed a series of high-profile disputes, most notably surrounding partner Shaun Maguire. Maguire's inflammatory tweets in recent months, including about New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, upset founders and some of the firm's limited partners in the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

Still, several people insisted that Maguire's political views had no influence on the leadership decision.

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