SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Ridge Ventures, an early-stage, enterprise-focused venture capital firm whose investments include Fastly, Braze and Discord, announced the addition of CFO Derrick Lee to the team. Lee is succeeding longtime Ridge CFO Lorra Stone, who is semi-retiring. She will assist with Lee’s transition and provide ongoing advice to the firm as needed.
Lee possesses more than twenty years of senior venture capital finance and fund accounting experience, ensuring that Ridge’s day-to-day financial affairs continue to operate seamlessly.
“CFOs are the unsung heroes and backbone of every great firm, so adding a tried-and-true finance guru like Derrick to our team is a huge win. His CFO experience in venture spans more than a decade and proves he can run a fiscally sound firm that is always three steps ahead,” said Alex Rosen, Managing Partner at Ridge Ventures. “Thanks to Lorra’s foundational contributions to Ridge, Derrick has a solid blueprint to follow. On behalf of the entire Ridge family, we wish her a smooth transition and fruitful retirement.”
Lee will spearhead all facets of Ridge’s financial operations. This comprises assisting Ridge’s GPs with financing portfolio companies, and overseeing partnership accounting, financial reporting, tax and treasury, regulatory compliance and financial information systems.
Before Joining Ridge, Lee handled all aspects of deal financings at Mohr Davidow Ventures and Wildcat Venture Partners, and also served as a consulting CFO at Learn Capital. As Mohr Davidow and Wildcat’s CFO, he led finance teams through portfolio company valuations, quarterly closes, LP reporting and annual meetings, while assisting the deals teams with financings, including term sheets, exits and more. Prior to starting his finance career at State Street Corporation, he received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of California, Berkeley. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University.
“It’s not every day you get a chance to join a firm like Ridge,” added Lee. “The storied history, long track record of successful investments, and a team of warm and thoughtful colleagues to boot. I’ve made a career out of crunching numbers, but the best part is watching founders take the next step in fulfilling their dreams. I’m thrilled to help Ridge expand its portfolio of world-changing companies.”
In 2020, Ridge has made a number of key hires. In addition to Lee joining as CFO, the firm added seasoned CIO Yousuf Khan (Automation Anywhere, Pure Storage) as Partner. In April of this year, Head of Investor Relations Susan Stella and Principal Kamil Saeid joined the Ridge team. The Ridge CXO Network, the largest of any non-billion-dollar fund, continues to grow as well and provides a source of customers for Ridge founders.
About Ridge Ventures
Founded in 2007, Ridge Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in founders who are redefining how the world interacts with data and code. Ridge takes a fast, flexible and founder-focused approach, and backs companies delivering advanced technologies, new distribution models and incredible user experiences. To learn more, visit www.ridge.vc and follow us @ridgevc.
