Peter Shannon Leaves Atlas Venture for Firelake Capital

Peter Shannon is the latest investor to leave Atlas Venture, announcing today that he will join Firelake Capital as a partner. He also will switch coasts, relocating to the Bay Area early next year.

This move is of particular interest to me, because it seems that Firelake co-founder Marty Lagod originally met Shannon at the exact same moment I did: When Shannon was part of the University of Chicago team at the Venture Capital Investment Competition finals in Chapel HIll.

Each year, there are a handful of participants that are a cut above the rest, and Shannon was in that crew (even though U Chicago came in 3rd). He soon signed on with Atlas as a principal focused on cleantech, and began returning to Chapel Hill each year as a judge (as have me and Lagod).

“I first got to know Marty through VCIC,” Shannon says. “Then Atlas invested in [Firelake portfolio company] Miasole, and I went out to the West Coast for some of its board meetings… We kept in touch, and this opportunity to join Firelake and keep focusing on cleantech was something I just couldn’t turn down.”

Prior to joining Atlas and attending business school, Shannon was VP of technology at Browz Group, an SaaS company focused on supply chain compliance, and co-founder of Eye Response Inc., a developer of computer-based eye-tracking products.