Chris Douvos is not a celebrity. But among limited partners in venture capital funds, he’s about as close as one gets. And now he’s moving on.
The Investment Fund for Foundations today announced that Douvos has decided to leave, nearly seven years after joining from Princeton to co-lead private equity investments. He established the Pennsylvania-based group’s Silicon Valley office four years later, where he has emphasized commitments to the burgeoning generation of seed-stage and micro-VC funds.
Douvos is known for his red t-shirts, quick wit on conference panels and quirky blog (which seems to be the only LP-penned site around). In an upcoming post, he discusses his job change:
“There’s no drama or backstory to tell. My firm tried to lure me back East; I thought about it, talked to the family, gazed for a while at a nearby grove of redwoods imperial — as a son of Whitman’s Brooklyn, I’m endlessly captivated by the stalwart trees of the West — and politely declined.
I’ve had a blast working for my company; they’re good people pursuing an important mission. It’s been a great seven years, but the allure of California is just too strong; I’ve been mesmerized by this magical place and I don’t think I’ll ever leave.”
No word yet on what’s next for Douvos, although he won’t suffer for options (join a fund-of-funds, launch his own shop, return to his endowment roots?). He is expected to remain with TIFF in an advisory capacity through year-end.
