GENEVA, Switzerland, Jan. 8, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Index Ventures, a leading pan-European venture capital firm, today announced that Danny Rimer will join the firm as Partner. Mr. Rimer will be based in London where he will be responsible for establishing an office. Index Ventures also announced the addition of Anil Pereira of VeriSign to its advisory board.
"As Index Ventures continues to pursue world class technology opportunities in Europe, the need to expand our coverage as well as our leadership team is mission-critical," said Giuseppe Zocco, General Partner, Index Ventures. "Our vision since the early 90's has been to play a role in the growth of European venture capital and entrepreneurship. Our team has now reached the level of critical mass that makes expansion accretive to our efforts. Danny has extensive knowledge and experience in technology investing, a demonstrated ability to add value to portfolio companies and a deep network of contacts on both sides of the Atlantic. He is a perfect fit for this role and we are delighted that he has agreed to take it on."
Danny Rimer was most recently a General Partner at The Barksdale Group, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. At The Barksdale Group, Mr. Rimer worked on over a dozen significant venture investments, including CrossGain, myCFO, Moxi Digital (formerly Reardon Steel), Neoteris, Ofoto, Slam Dunk Networks, TellMe and ViAir. Prior to joining The Barksdale Group, Mr. Rimer headed the Chase H&Q Internet Research and Investment Banking Group. At H&Q, Mr. Rimer worked on underwritings including @Home, CNET, InfoSpace, Inktomi, Netscape, UUNet, VeriSign and Vignette. While at H&Q, he also sponsored direct investments in over 25 companies. Mr. Rimer remains an Advisory Director to JP Morgan (formerly Chase H&Q).
Danny Rimer noted, "I've been involved with Index Ventures in an advisory capacity for a number of years and have seen the firm evolve over the past decade into one of the leading European venture capital firms. Index's decision to expand its presence in Europe underscores the firm's long-standing commitment to partnering with entrepreneurs in building world-class companies in Europe. I am thrilled to be part of the team working to make that happen."
"I am delighted that Danny will be joining Index Ventures - it is a great outcome for both sides. Having done several deals with Index, I view this as a natural transition for Danny. Index is an outstanding firm and I am confident that Danny will be a great fit and tremendous asset. They are privileged to have him. I look forward to working with him and Index in the future," commented Jim Barksdale, co-founder and General Partner of the Barksdale Group.
Index Ventures also announced today the appointment of Anil Pereira, Senior Vice President and Group General Manager, Enterprise and Service Provider Division of VeriSign (Nasdaq:VRSN) to the Index Ventures Advisory Board. Mr. Pereira has helped build VeriSign into a global brand and currently oversees a number of the company's business lines, including Enterprise Trust Services, Digital Brand Management Services and Partnerships & Alliances. He has forged numerous strategic partnerships for the company since joining VeriSign five years ago and will serve as a strong sounding board for Index Ventures as the firm continues to broaden its reach.
"Anil Pereira is a strong addition to our already outstanding advisory board. The Index Advisory Board consists of individuals with whom we work very actively and we look forward to gaining Anil's insights on strategic and portfolio company related business," added Giuseppe Zocco.
Mr. Pereira joins fellow board members Mike Volpi of Cisco Systems, Barry Appelman, CTO of America Online, Inc., Thomas Kurian of Oracle and other leading technology and life sciences advisors. The Index Ventures advisory board plays a strategic role for the firm in helping to monitor trends, refine investment sector focus, review investment opportunities and assist the portfolio companies.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a leading pan-European venture capital fund with $500 million dedicated to investments in high technology and life sciences. Index began investing in European technology in 1992 and its core team has been working together to make principal venture investments in technology companies since the mid-90's. Index is dedicated to working with entrepreneurs to build companies that can become global leaders in their sector. Index Ventures investors include leading technology firms and institutional investors. Previous investments that are now public include include Virata (Nasdaq:VRTA), Genmab (CSE:GEN), SCM Microsystems (Nasdaq:SCMM) and Numerical Technologies (Nasdaq:NMTC). To learn more about Index Ventures visit http://www.indexventures.com.