TCV’s Partner Ranks Increase By Three –

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) in July hired Warburg Pincus’ Chris Nawn as a partner and also promoted two associates to the partner level to help invest its latest fund.

Nawn, an acquaintance of several TCV partners for many years, was a five year veteran at Warburg Pincus, where he worked in the firm’s emerging growth group as head of research. Before that, he spent two years as a portfolio manager of Warburg’s post-venture fund, and previously he worked at Dreyfus Corp. as a sector manager for technology and communications. Nawn’s public market skills will come in handy at TCV, which makes expansion-stage venture investments in information technology companies and also backs businesses once they have gone public.

The venture firm has some $700 million under management, including its most recent fund, TCV III, which wrapped on $417 million in January

Mike Linnert and Jake Reynolds joined TCV about two years ago, with Linnert focusing on Internet and communications deals and Reynolds concentrating on professional services, telecommunications and enterprise software, said TCV Partner Rick Kimball.

Linnert joined TCV from Goldman Sachs & Co., where he was an investment banker. Prior to that, he was a manufacturing engineer at General Motors Corp. Reynolds worked as a junior associate at General Atlantic Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm that focuses on information technology.

“I don’t think [the promotion] changes my role a ton,” Reynolds said. “The idea is to still find tremendous companies with great management teams that have high growth prospects.”

Apart from Linnert, Reynolds, Nawn and Kimball, TCV has Partners Jay Hoag and Marc Tesler, and Chief Financial Officer Robert Bensky, who also is a partner.

TCV recently hired two analysts, and the firm still is searching for additional investment professionals, Hoag said, explaining the firm would add to its ranks at various levels over time.