Board of Directors

John Borchers
General Partner, Crescendo Ventures

John joined Crescendo Ventures in 1997 and has played a leading role in developing the firm's international presence. After spending nearly three years working in Crescendo's London office, John relocated to Palo Alto in 2003 where he focuses on investment opportunities in the enterprise infrastructure market. John has been involved with a number of Crescendo portfolio companies in both the U.S. and Europe and his current projects include BDNA Corporation, Credant Technologies, SealedMedia, StoneFly Networks and Transitive Corporation. Prior to joining Crescendo Ventures, John worked in the data warehousing and predictive analytics fields where he held various operational roles including a two-year posting to Sydney, Australia, where he opened the first Asia-Pacific office for a US-based data warehousing firm. John received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond.

Dennis Phelps
General Partner, Institutional Venture Partners

Dennis Phelps joined IVP in October 2001. He focuses primarily on expansion-stage and selected public market investments in software, Internet, wireless, and technology-enabled services companies. Mr. Phelps led IVP's investments in Advent Software (ADVS), Chordiant Software (CHRD), Dust Networks, SupportSoft (SPRT), Synchronoss Technologies, Vonage and Yodlee, and he currently serves as a board director or observer for Dust Networks, Vonage and Yodlee. Prior to IVP, Mr. Phelps spent several years with Battery Ventures and Internet Capital Group ("ICG"). At Battery, he managed the firm's West Coast software deal sourcing program, executed new investments in emerging software and Internet companies, and worked closely with portfolio company management teams. His investments at Battery included two financial software companies, Corillian (CORI) and eCredit.com, each of which generated several multiples of return on invested capital. In November 1999, Mr. Phelps was recruited from Battery to ICG, where he was the third member of ICG's West Coast Acquisitions team. As Director of Acquisitions, he was responsible for identifying and executing strategic acquisitions, providing partner company management teams with operational and financial assistance, managing business development initiatives, and generating portfolio liquidity. Earlier in his career, Mr. Phelps worked in corporate finance with Hambrecht & Quist ("H&Q"), a technology-focused investment bank. At H&Q, he assisted a diverse variety of technology clients with public equity offerings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions. His transaction experience included IPOs for some of the Bay Area's leading technology companies, including Advent Software (ADVS), CNET (CNET) and MacroVision (MVSN). Mr. Phelps earned a B.A. in Government & Economics (magna cum laude) from Dartmouth College.

Kris Pister
Founder & CTO, Dust Networks
(view bio)

Rod Powell
Partner, RJ Investments

Rod is currently a partner at RJ Investments (RJI) and leads various consultancy and investment projects in the U.S. and the U.K. Prior to joining RJI, Rod served in various leadership roles at Invensys, a global industrial automation, controls and transportation group, from 2000-2004 including senior vice president of corporate planning, chief executive of Invensys Controls Division, and president of the Utility Metering Systems Business Unit. In his role as president of the Controls Division, Rod was responsible for leading seven business units including appliance and climate controls, meters, sensors, building systems, fractional motors and home controls. Prior to Invensys, Rod served as CEO of Fujitsu ICL Retail Systems in Dallas, Texas, and held various operational and financial roles at Texas Instruments in the U.S. and Europe. Rod currently serves on the boards of Dust Networks, Renold, a U.K.-based precision engineering company, Hanover Investors Global Fund, and Virginia’s Center of Innovative Technology. Rod earned his bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from the Loughborough University of Technology. He went on to become a qualified management accountant in 1976 and a certified engineer in 1988.

Rich Redelfs
General Partner, Foundation Capital

Rich joined Foundation Capital after 20+ years in networking and communications, a combination of start-up entrepreneurial as well as large company intrapreneurial experience. Most recently, he was president and CEO of Atheros Communications (NASDAQ: ATHR) which he joined as a start-up with 21 engineers and an office manager. He built the company into the leading provider of Wi-Fi wireless semiconductors and Silicon Valley's "Fastest Growing Private Company" as determined by the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal and PricewaterhouseCoopers for the 2001 to 2003 period. In 2003 Rich received Frost & Sullivan's prestigious "Wireless LAN CEO of the Year" award. Prior to Atheros, Rich was vice president and general manager of 3Com's Wireless and Home Connectivity Division, where he was a pioneer in home networking. He spent more than ten years at 3Com in various sales, marketing, and general management positions including vice president of Marketing and later acting general manager for the Mobile Communications Division, which he helped grow from $35-million to over $700-million in revenue. Other positions at 3Com included director of Americas Hub Marketing, National Reseller sales manager, and National OEM sales manager. Prior to 3Com, Rich was chief operating officer of Polygon, a communications software start-up. Rich began his professional career with TeleVideo Systems, an early leader in personal computers and networking, where he held various marketing and sales management positions. Rich currently serves on the boards of Dust Networks, Azimuth Systems and Mobius Microsystems, and was previously on the board of Atheros Communications. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSIE from Purdue.

Joy Weiss
President & CEO, Dust Networks
(view bio)