Firm Continues Its Commitment to Building on Its Investment Success With Addition of Newest Partner to Lead a World-Class Investor Relations Team That Engages LPs as Long-Term Partners
Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire” or the “Firm”) a leading global investment firm partnering with visionary management teams and venture funds to scale companies of consequence, today announced that Ralph DeBernardo has joined the Firm as a partner and head of investor relations. DeBernardo joins from Peak Rock Capital, a leading middle-market private investment firm based in Austin, Texas.
In this newly created role, DeBernardo will oversee all aspects of investor relations, ensuring Sapphire’s limited partners have a direct line of communication to the Firm and its senior team, as well as manage strategy and execution around fundraising activities. DeBernardo will work across the entire Sapphire platform, including its Ventures, Sport and Partners strategies to deliver a world-class experience to the Firm’s limited partners as well as expand its investor base across the U.S. and internationally. Sapphire’s investors include some of the most sophisticated institutional investors as well as family offices and executives of premier sports teams, media and technology companies across the globe.
“Sapphire’s history of building deep relationships and long-term partnerships with strategic limited partners has been core to who we are since our founding. As Sapphire continues to evolve ahead of the dynamically changing venture capital landscape, it is imperative to provide our limited partners with a best-in-class experience, as generating great returns is simply not enough,” said Nino Marakovic, CEO of Sapphire. “We are excited to welcome Ralph to the team as he brings a wealth of experience managing relationships with some of the most premier investors in the world. His joining couldn’t come at a more important time for the Firm as we have reached a true inflection point with our most recent capital raise.”
“For more than a decade, the team at Sapphire has built an impressive organization and culture, centered around continuity and impressive results for their investors. I am extremely thrilled to join such an incredible team,” said Ralph DeBernardo, head of investor relations at Sapphire. “I look forward to continuing to help expand our base of limited partners across the globe and maintain a best-in-class experience for our investors.”
Prior to Sapphire, DeBernardo was head of investor relations at Peak Rock Capital, a leading middle-market private equity, credit and real estate investing firm based in Austin, Texas. As the first dedicated investor relations professional at Peak Rock, DeBernardo oversaw investor communications and fundraising and spearheaded the closings of multiple oversubscribed funds. Prior to that, DeBernardo was a member of the investor relations team at Vista Equity Partners, where he was responsible for raising capital and managing investor relationships across all investor types and geographies and product management across Vista’s credit strategies. Prior to Vista, Ralph was with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in the Client & Partner Group working across the firm’s alternative product suite and helping to manage some of the firm’s largest strategic relationships. Ralph began his career at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York City and holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.