Who We Are: Debi Coleman

Managing Partner, SmartForest Ventures

Debi ColemanDebi Coleman, Managing Partner of SmartForest Ventures , is one of the most recognized female executives in technology management. Debi stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Merix Corp. (NASDAQ: MERX) in September 2001, having served as Chair since October 1999, and serving as both CEO/Chair since its spin-out from Tektronix, Inc. in March 1994 (IPO: May, 1994). Prior to that she was Vice President Materials/Operations for Tektronix. She is perhaps best known for her career achievements with Apple Computer, Inc. where she held the positions of Vice President of Operations, Chief Financial Officer, and Vice President Information Systems and Technology.

Coleman serves as an advisor to three venture funds: PacRim Partners (CA); Utah Ventures; and Alexander Hutton Ventures (Seattle). She has been an active angel investor since 1995 and is a founding member of the Portland Angel Network.

Coleman graduated from Brown University with a BA in English Literature in 1974 and received her MBA from Stanford University in 1978. She also received an honorary Ph.D in Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1987. Coleman was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute in 1997.

Coleman devotes time and energy to several organizations including the Committee of 200 and International Women.s Forum. She currently serves on the boards of Applied Materials Inc.; Synopsys, Inc.; Kryptiq; Neopad; Teja; and Phoseon.

Officers

  • Telle Whitney, – President and CEO
  • James Beck, CPA & CMA, Managing Director & COO, Mayfield Fund – Treasurer, Vice President & Corporate Secretary

Corporate Counsel

  • Allison Spinner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Staff

Our Founder

Board of Trustees

  • Leah Jamieson, John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering and Ramsburg Distinguished Professor, Purdue University, Board Chair
  • Francine Berman, Vice President of Research and Professor of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Vice Chair
  • Robin Abrams, Investor
  • Anushka Anand, Ph.D Candidate, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • James Beck, CPA & CMA, Managing Director and COO, Mayfield Fund – Treasurer, Vice President and Corporate Secretary
  • Mark Bregman, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Neustar
  • Debi Coleman, Managing Partner, SmartForest Ventures
  • Nancy E. Cooper, Retired, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, CA Technologies
  • Kelli Crane, Senior Vice President of Global Enterprise Information Solutions, LexisNexis
  • Nora Denzel, Senior Vice President, Big Data, Social Design and Marketing, Intuit
  • Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President of Knowledge, Google
  • Penny Herscher, President and CEO, firstRain
  • Kathy Hill, Senior Vice President, Development Strategy and Operations, Cisco Systems Inc.
  • Tracy S. Keogh, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, HP
  • Sarah Loos, Ph.D Candidate, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Brian Pawlowski, CTO and Senior Vice President, NetApp
  • Richard Rashid, Chief Research Officer, Microsoft
  • Justin Rattner, Senior Fellow and CTO, Intel
  • Mike Schroepfer, VP of Engineering, Facebook
  • Bill Unger, Partner Emeritus, Mayfield Fund
  • William Wulf, Former President, National Academy of Engineering
  • Telle Whitney, President and CEO, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
  • Margaret Ashida, Emerita (Term: 2003- 2009)
  • Linda Bernardi, Emerita (Term: 1996 -2006)
  • Wayne Johnson, Emeritus (Term: 2002-2008)
  • Maria Klawe, Emerita (Term: 1996-2011)
  • Greg Papadopoulos, Emeritus (Term: 1996 -2006)

Individual and Organizations

Board of Advisors