"Botha-PayPal's defining early CFO, who's now known for backing companies like YouTube, Instagram, and Block-said Tuesday that he will pass the baton to Pat Grady and Alfred Lin. "They have a fearlessness and resilience that's necessary to win in this business," Botha wrote in a letter that the firm post on X. "They do not shy away from difficult conversations, and they roll up their sleeves to company-build-both with founders and within Sequoia.""
"Botha, who Fortune profiled last year, has presided over a tumultuous period in the history of Sequoia, which burst into the public most recently when the Financial Times reported that Sequoia COO Sumaiya Balbale resigned due to posts by Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire that she considered Islamophobic. The firm-started in 1972 by Don Valentine, and a backer in the early days of companies like Atari and Apple-has experienced a number of big changes over recent years:"
Roelof Botha will step aside as steward of Sequoia Capital after nearly a decade, handing leadership to Pat Grady and Alfred Lin. Botha, formerly PayPal's early CFO and an investor in companies such as YouTube, Instagram and Block, will transition into an advisory role while remaining on boards of startups he invested in. Sequoia has undergone structural shifts including a 2021 restructuring into an evergreen fund and a later split of its China operations. The firm recently faced controversy after its COO resigned over Islamophobic posts by a partner. Grady and Lin bring long tenure and major investment track records and will confront immediate political and reputational challenges.
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