Former CFO of King Digital and ClearWire Brings Management, Operating Experience to Venture and Startup World
SEATTLE, WA – January 12, 2017 – Madrona Venture Group, an early-stage venture capital firm, announced today that Hope Cochran has joined the firm as Venture Partner. Cochran brings a deep wealth of knowledge based on her experience as an entrepreneur, board member and CFO of public and private companies. As Venture Partner, Cochran will help identify new investments, provide strategic and operational advice to Madrona portfolio companies, and foster corporate and strategic business development relationships with larger companies and investors.
“I’m excited to jump back into the startup world and work directly with exec teams at some of the most innovative companies in the technology industry,” said Cochran. “Madrona is a leader in the community and I’m looking forward to being part of the team that helps their portfolio companies realize their full potential.”
Cochran was most recently the CFO of King Digital, the creator of Candy Crush and other successful mobile games, where she helped the company manage explosive employee and revenue growth, guided the company’s IPO and successfully completed a $5.9 billion acquisition by Activision in early 2016. Prior to King Digital, Cochran was CFO at Clearwire, a telecom company that navigated the complicated world of spectrum, partnerships and competition as the modern wireless industry took shape. While at Clearwire she brought the company through $12 billion of capital raises including an IPO, secondary offering, multiple debt offerings and strategic investments from large public companies.
Cochran started her career as an entrepreneur and founder of SkillsVillage. A company she grew to 200 employees and $10 million in revenue. Acquired by Peoplesoft and folded into their larger platform, SkillsVillage created a system for companies to easily manage contract labor.
Cochran also serves on the boards of MongoDB and Hasbro.
“Hope’s mix of experiences scaling companies of all sizes and guiding corporations through IPO’s and multi-billion dollar M&A transactions is unparalleled. Her strategic insight and hands on approach will be invaluable to Madrona’s portfolio companies and the innovation ecosystem. Our team is excited to have her expertise and voice at the table,” commented Matt McIlwain, managing director, Madrona Venture Group.
About Madrona Venture Group
Madrona (www.madrona.com) has been investing in early-stage technology companies in the Pacific Northwest since 1995 and has been privileged to play a role in some of the region’s most successful technology ventures. The firm invests predominately in seed and Series A rounds across the information technology spectrum, including consumer Internet, commercial software and services, digital media and advertising, networking and cloud computing, and mobile. Madrona manages approximately $1 billion and was an early investor in companies such as Amazon.com, Apptio, Rover.com, and Redfin.
Media Contact: Erika Shaffer, [email protected], 206-972-5514
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