Sign In

Chris Cheever

Founder and Partner at Fontinalis Partners, LLC

Chris Cheever is a prominent figure in the venture capital industry, serving as a Founder and Managing Partner at Fontinalis Partners, a venture capital firm he co-founded in 2009.2

Professional Background

Chris has an extensive career in finance and investment:

  • He started Fontinalis Partners in 2009 with four other partners, including Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company.1
  • Prior to Fontinalis, Chris worked in various financial roles, including:
    • Venture capital at LaunchCapital
    • Private equity at Highbridge Principal Strategies (now HPS Investment Partners)
    • Asset management at Fred Alger Management
    • Investment banking at UBS2

Role at Fontinalis Partners

As a Founder and Managing Partner, Chris is deeply involved in the firm's operations and investments:

  • He works closely with founders, management teams, and boards of Fontinalis portfolio companies.4
  • Chris has broad interests and has worked with companies in various sectors, including weather tech, microlocation, advanced materials, cargo software, industrial drones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and more.4
  • He currently serves on the Board of Directors for several portfolio companies and as a Board Observer for others.4

Education

Chris has a strong educational background:

  • MBA from Yale School of Management (2007-2009)
  • BA from Harvard University (1998-2002)2

Personal

  • Chris is based in Boston, Massachusetts.3
  • He is a father of three children.5
  • Chris has a personal connection to Dedham Country Day School, where he, his brothers, and his father all attended. He now serves on the school's Board of Trustees.1

Chris Cheever is known for his determination as a company builder and his belief in the importance of extraordinary people and big ideas in business.5

Highlights

Jun 7 · linkedin

Myself and my entire team at Fontinalis Partners would like to congratulate Life360, which today made its proud debut on the Nasdaq Exchange with Chris Hulls ringing the bell with his amazing family and colleagues by his side. I am honored to have been closely associated since the early days. Fontinalis was a major seed / series A investor and early believer in Life360 when it only had hundreds of thousands of monthly active users and minimal revenue; today it has nearly 70 million monthly active users and is driving steadily toward half a billion in revenue. I sincerely enjoyed serving on their board as a private company. It was always evident that two talented co-founders, Chris Hulls & Alex Haro shared a bold vision and maniacl focus on product quality and execution that would serve them well. They steadily built an amazing company culture, team and roster of supporters, all of whom cared deeply about what they were working on. The truth is Life360 has always been an amazing company due to its people and purposeful mission. Life360 is today already a top five social app and growing handily, but I’m most excited about what is to come for them. The potential of this platform is immense and still largely untapped. Product focus, great leadership and perseverance always pays off, and especially so when good and talented people are involved along the way. Special thanks to Itamar Novick , John Philip Coghlan , James Synge , Mark Goines , Brit Morin , Randi Zuckerberg , Jason Krikorian , @Ryan Swagar , Ethan Kurzweil and so many incredible Life360 employees and supporters, both past and present. It’s impressive what you’ve all accomplished!

Dec 21 · linkedin

Fontinalis Partners is so excited to be an investor in Veho and proud to have another unicorn in the portfolio. When you come across exceptional founders you know it. Itamar Zur and Fred Cook have a bold vision for the future of e-commerce delivery. We believe strongly in that vision and their execution, as do many great investors and e-commerce brands. The growth has been tremendous and the best is yet to come!

Related Questions

What are some of the notable companies in Fontinalis Partners' portfolio?
How did Chris Cheever's background in venture capital influence his approach at Fontinalis Partners?
What are Chris Cheever's main responsibilities as a Managing Partner at Fontinalis Partners?
How has Chris Cheever's work impacted the tech industry?
What inspired Chris Cheever to start Fontinalis Partners?
Chris Cheever
Chris Cheever, photo 1
Chris Cheever, photo 2
Add to my network

Experience

Founder and Partner at Fontinalis Partners, LLC (June 2009 - Present)
Investment Associate - Venture Capital at LaunchCapital (January 2008 - May 2009), Investment Associate - Principal Strategies at HPS Investment Partners, LLC (June 2008 - September 2008), Investment at Fred Alger Management (June 2001 - September 2001)

Education

MBA from Yale School of Management (2007 - 2009), BA from Harvard University (1998 - 2002)

Location

Boston, Massachusetts, United States