Peter Bell is Chairman of Palo Alto-based BCSV. Mr. Bell focuses his energy and resources on partnering with entrepreneurs to build companies of consequence. Mr. Bell began his career at Price Waterhouse in Boston. In late 1986, Mr. Bell sensed the opportunities arising in the information age of enterprise computing and joined an exciting young company in Natick, Massachusetts, EMC Corporation. He relocated to San Francisco in 1987 to help lead EMC efforts in Silicon Valley. EMC was acquired by Dell in September, 2016 for $67 Billion. In 1998, Bell embarked on his own entrepreneurial journey and co-founded StorageNetworks, a pioneer in cloud computing. Mr. Bell led the company as its CEO and completed an IPO in 2000. After stepping down as CEO in 2003, Mr. Bell formed his own investment firm, Stowe Capital, focusing on early stage investments in enterprise software, data center infrastructure, and consumer internet companies. He was a member of the faculty at The MIT Sloan School of Management from 2003-2006, where he taught Entrepreneurship. Mr. Bell was also a Distinguished Executive in Residence and member of the faculty at Boston College from 2003-2010, where he taught at the Carroll School of Management. Mr. Bell served as a University Trustee at Boston College from 2002-2010 and currently serves as a Trustee Associate. Mr. Bell has been a strong supporter and mentor to student entrepreneurs; in 2001, he co-founded The Boston College Technology and Entrepreneurship Council and is currently the Vice Chair. In 2006, Mr. Bell joined Highland Capital Partners, a $4B global venture capital firm, where he led investments in early-stage technology companies eventually becoming the Managing General Partner of the firm. Mr. Bell stepped down from his day-to-day responsibilities at Highland in May, 2016 and continues to serve as a Senior Advisor to the firm.
Mr. Bell is passionate about being involved in the earliest stages of a company’s formation. Currently, Mr. Bell’s thematic areas of focus include: Machine Learning, Big Data, Virtual/Augmented Reality, Cyber-security, Internet of Things, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Personal/Mobile Commerce, Payments, and Enterprise Software. He is currently a board member at Blackstorm Labs, Bromium, Enjoy, Leap Motion, LevelUp, Qumulo, Seven10, Turbonomic, and WePay