According to TechCrunch General Catalyst, now positioning itself as an “investment and transformation company,” has seen the departure of three key managing directors amid a series of internal changes.
The executives leaving the firm include Deep Nishar and Kyle Doherty, who co-led General Catalyst’s late-stage Endurance strategy, as well as Adam Valkin, one of three leaders overseeing the firm’s early-stage investments, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
While the reasons for their departures remain unclear, a General Catalyst limited partner pointed to broader leadership changes within the firm. Following its October 2023 merger with European early-stage firm La Famiglia, General Catalyst appointed Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, La Famiglia’s founder, as one of its top senior partners. Six months later, the firm acquired Indian VC firm Venture Highway, elevating its founder, Neeraj Arora, to a similarly senior role.
Additionally, individuals close to the firm say its compensation structure has shifted, prioritizing cash bonuses over equity, which may have influenced investor retention.
People close to the organization have also added that the firm’s strategic shift beyond venture has influenced how investors are compensated. General Catalyst has shifted its compensation structure to favor cash bonuses over equity, they said.
Deep Nishar, an Ex- LinkedIn executive, joined the organization from SoftBank’s Vision Fund back in 2021, where he led investments in Slack and 10x Genomics.
On the other hand, Kyle Doherty joined General Catalyst in 2017 after leading private investments at Coatue for five years. His investments include Step, a digital banking startup, and Ethos, an insurance company.
Lastly, Adam Valkin, who joined the firm in 2013, has been involved with fintech companies like Rapyd, currently raising capital at a steeply reduced valuation of $3.5 billion, and Shift Technology, which last raised funding in 2021 at a valuation of over $1 billion. He also backed ClassPass, acquired by MindBody in 2021.
The departures come at a time when General Catalyst, which manages $32 billion in assets, is evolving from a partnership-model firm into a company and adding non-venture strategies such as a wealth management business and buying a hospital system in Ohio.
Rumors have long swirled about the firm’s ambitions to go public, and recent reports suggest this may be closer to reality. Multiple sources have indicated that General Catalyst is actively considering an IPO, with Axios reporting that the firm is in the very early stages of evaluating a public offering.
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