Marcus Ryu, a veteran entrepreneur and technology startup advisor who co-founded and then served as chief executive of Silicon Valley vertical software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Guidewire Software, has joined Battery Ventures as a partner.
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“Co-founding and leading a technology startup from concept to IPO and achieving market leadership was the defining experience of my career. I both learned from and advised many entrepreneurs, and I am now keen to support the next generation of founders pursuing their own quests to solve intractable problems”
Battery—a global, technology-focused investment firm that in July announced it has closed new funds capitalized at $3.8 billion—worked closely with Ryu after investing in Guidewire in 2007. The company went public in 2012.
“Co-founding and leading a technology startup from concept to IPO and achieving market leadership was the defining experience of my career. I both learned from and advised many entrepreneurs, and I am now keen to support the next generation of founders pursuing their own quests to solve intractable problems,” said Ryu, who served as Guidewire’s CEO until 2019 and remains the company’s chairman.
He added: “I am especially honored to represent a firm with an extensive history of backing innovative technology companies—and one whose stage-agnostic, seed-to-buyout investing strategy strikes me as especially well-suited for today’s unpredictable macroeconomic conditions.” At Battery, Ryu will focus on early- and growth-stage software investments and work out of the firm’s San Francisco office.
Guidewire, which Ryu co-founded shortly after the dot-com industry downturn, provides a cloud-based, core system platform for property-casualty insurers for their underwriting, policy administration, b****** and claims operations.
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“There are not many software operators around who can match Marcus’s business acumen and background—someone who took a company from zero to over $700 million in revenue and 3,000 employees and also ran it as a public entity,” said Neeraj Agrawal, the Battery general partner who led the firm’s original Guidewire investment. “That Marcus did this during difficult economic times, directly after the first dot-com bust and through the 2008-2009 financial crisis, is also a testament to his incredible resilience and long-term vision as a leader.”
Added Chelsea Stoner, another current Battery general partner who worked with Guidewire: “I know Marcus’s proven ability to build a strong business and corporate culture—as well as his extremely high level of personal integrity—will serve him well in his new career as an investor. Battery is excited to add another senior investing partner in the Bay Area, and we feel extremely privileged to have him on our team.”
Earlier in his career, Ryu worked as an engagement manager at McKinsey & Co. and was vice president of strategy at Ariba. He is currently a director of Checkr, Bloomreach, Bestow and Guidewire; previously, he served on the boards of technology companies MuleSoft, Opower, Clearwater Analytics, Cornerstone OnDemand and Procore Technologies. Ryu studied philosophy at New College, Oxford University and holds an A.B. from Princeton University.
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