New Delhi, April 14 -- US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst, an investor in quick commerce startup Zepto, has appointed a top executive from a cybersecurity firm as an independent director, even as its co-founder steps down from the board. The firm has earmarked around $5 billion (Rs 45,454 crore) for investments in India over the next five years.
General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja announced in a social media post that the firm has onboarded Nasdaq-listed Palo Alto Networks' chairman and CEO Nikesh Arora as lead independent director.
Meanwhile, its co-founder and managing director David Fialkow has stepped down from the board after 24 years. While it remains unclear in what capacity Fialkow will continue with the firm, Taneja said he "isn't going far" and will "remain deeply engaged with the company."
Talking about Arora's appointment, Taneja wrote, "Nikesh (Arora) will join me and (chairman) Kenneth I Chenault on the board. My team and I look forward to working closely with him as we continue building GC (General Catalyst) and supporting the founders we back."
Before joining Palo Alto Networks in 2018, Arora served as president and chief operating officer at SoftBank Group Corp.
Earlier, he worked as a senior executive at Google for 10 years, serving as senior vice president and chief business officer. He also served as chief marketing officer of the T-Mobile International Division of Deutsche Telekom AG, and as founder and CEO of T-Motion PLC.
Meanwhile, Fialkow, who is also a documentary filmmaker, founded General Catalyst with Joel Cutler. Before starting the firm, the duo sold four companies: National Leisure Group, Alliance Development Group, Retail Growth ATM Systems, and Starboard Cruise Services, which was acquired by French luxury conglomerate LVMH.
At General Catalyst, Fialkow specialized in sectors such as financial services, digital health, artificial intelligence, and data analytics.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.