Roelof Botha

Roelof Botha may not be the founder of Sequoia, but he has become the public face of the legendary Silicon Valley venture capital firm. (His official title is “steward.”) After a stint as one of the “PayPal mafia,” Botha made his name joining Sequoia in 2003 with prescient investments in companies including YouTube, Instagram, and Square. Since Botha entered the top position in July 2022, he has navigated pivotal moments, including decoupling the firm from its China business and placating investors after a disastrous bet on FTX. Botha is also backing his former PayPal coworker and fellow South African, Elon Musk, with Sequoia contributing to Musk’s takeover of Twitter and participating in xAI’s $6 billion funding round earlier this year.