Mike Volpi
Mike Volpi | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 13, 1966 Milan, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, venture capitalist |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Known for | Chief strategy officer at Cisco Systems, co-founder of Index Ventures San Francisco |
Michelangelo "Mike" Volpi (born December 13, 1966) is a businessman and venture capitalist holding dual Italian-American nationality.
Beginning his career as an engineer, he ascended to the role of chief strategy officer at Cisco Systems during a significant expansion period, managing more than 70 acquisitions within a span of five years. In 2009, he co-established the San Francisco branch of Index Ventures alongside Danny Rimer.
Early life and education
Originally from Milan, Italy, Volpi relocated to Tokyo, Japan at the age of five, and later moved to the United States in 1984 to pursue higher education. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering (1984–1988) followed by a Master of Science in manufacturing systems engineering (1988–1989), both from Stanford University. After working several years at HP, he returned to Stanford to complete an M.B.A. between 1992 and 1994.
HP
Volpi began his professional journey in 1989 within the optoelectronics division of Hewlett Packard, contributing to engineering and marketing efforts.
Cisco
He joined Cisco Systems in 1994 and advanced rapidly to lead the company’s acquisitions team by 1996. As chief strategy officer, Volpi was responsible for corporate strategy, business development, and alliance management, developing acquisition approaches that set industry standards. Reporting directly to CEO John Chambers until 2000, he was regarded as a potential successor.
Later, he moved into operational leadership roles, serving as senior vice president and general manager for routing and switching divisions, eventually co-heading the routing and service provider group until 2007. Under his leadership, Cisco introduced its inaugural Carrier Routing System product, the CRS-1, in 2004.
Entrepreneurship
Following his departure from Cisco in 2007, Volpi took on the role of entrepreneur in residence (EIR) at Sequoia Capital. Shortly thereafter, he became CEO of Joost, an internet startup focused on online television founded by Skype creators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. In September 2009, Skype’s founders initiated legal action against Volpi concerning Skype’s separation from eBay; this lawsuit was dismissed two months later.
Index Ventures and Joost CEO
At Index Ventures, Volpi concentrates on early-stage investments targeting sectors such as autonomous driving, enterprise technology, and open source. He has held board positions with portfolio companies including Big Switch Networks, Blue Bottle Coffee (later acquired by Nestle), Confluent Software, Elastic, Hortonworks, Lookout, Pure Storage, Sonos, Ubiquity6, and Zuora.
During his leadership, Index Ventures expanded its San Francisco office to complement its European operations. From 2012 through 2018, the firm completed six US-based initial public offerings, featuring companies like Dropbox, Etsy, Sonos, and Zuora. Additionally, it led early funding rounds for startups such as self-driving vehicle developer Aurora, electric scooter company Bird, and financial services platform Robinhood.
Councils and boards
Volpi serves as a non-executive board member at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and holds an independent directorship with European investment group Exor. He was on the board of Swedish telecommunications leader Ericsson from 2010 until 2013. His former board memberships include roles at Opsware (now part of HP), TIBCO Software, Skype, StorSimple, Cloud.com, and Clearwire.
He also contributes as a board member of Castilleja School, an independent girls’ school located in Palo Alto, California, and participates on the Global Advisory Board for the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford University. Volpi has been involved with the non-profit organization Witness, which utilizes video technology to document human rights abuses, and has provided guidance to the faculty at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Personal life
Volpi is fluent in three languages, is married, and has two children. His father, Vittorio Volpi, held an executive position at the United Bank of Switzerland.
Awards
- Featured on the Forbes Midas List as one of the World's Most Astute Tech Investors in 2015
- Included in the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 list in 1999
- Recognized by Network World in their 1999 Power Issue as one of the 25 Most Influential Figures in Networking
- Ranked #34 on the 2018 global top 100 venture capitalists list by The New York Times and CB Insights