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Roelof Botha<\/p>\nRoelof Botha<\/p>\n
Roelof Botha, the South African venture capitalist who has enjoyed significant success in the US, is stepping down as managing partner of Sequoia Capital.<\/p>\n
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday<\/a> (paywall) that his resignation followed a period marked by internal strife at the storied American venture capital firm.<\/p>\n Sequoia, founded in 1972, is one of the world\u2019s most successful venture firms, having backed Apple, Google, YouTube and Stripe, among many others.<\/p>\n Botha was born in Cape Town in 1973 and studied actuarial science at the University of Cape Town<\/p>\n In a letter to staff, Botha<\/a> \u2014 the grandson of the late South African foreign minister Pik Botha \u2014 said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation, consistent with the firm\u2019s tradition of leadership succession.<\/p>\n Botha, a member of the famed \u201cPayPal mafia\u201d and one of South Africa\u2019s most prominent tech figures, will remain with Sequoia as an adviser and retain his board positions.<\/p>\n His successors, Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, will jointly oversee the firm. Lin has co-led Sequoia\u2019s early-stage investments since 2017, while Grady has managed its late-stage business since 2015. Both are long-time lieutenants known for their operational focus and hands-on company-building approach.<\/p>\n Botha\u2019s leadership coincided with turbulence inside the firm, including the departure of chief operating officer Sumaiya Balbale following controversy over social media posts by partner Shaun Maguire, which she viewed as Islamophobic. Tensions also flared between Botha and former Sequoia chief Michael Moritz during a dispute over Klarna\u2019s board representation, though Botha later backed down.<\/p>\n \u2018PayPal mafia\u2019<\/p>\n Botha was born in Cape Town in 1973 and studied actuarial science at the University of Cape Town before leaving South Africa in the late 1990s to pursue an MBA at Stanford. His early career included a stint at McKinsey & Company, but his real break came when he joined PayPal, where he rose to chief financial officer and worked closely with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. That experience placed him in the heart of what became known as the \u201cPayPal mafia\u201d \u2013 a network of entrepreneurs and investors who went on to shape Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n