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Nicole North

Partner, Talent at Lightspeed Venture Partners

Nicole (Freitas) North is a Partner, Talent at Lightspeed Venture Partners, a role she has held since March 2019.1 She leads Lighthouse, the firm's global platform.1 Prior to joining Lightspeed, Nicole spent nearly a decade at SPMB, an executive search firm, where she founded and led the dedicated consumer practice.2

Nicole's experience includes:

  1. Partner, Talent at Lightspeed Venture Partners (March 2019 - Present)1
  2. Partner, Consumer Practice at SPMB (September 2010 - March 2019)1
  3. Senior Associate at Korn/Ferry International (August 2004 - September 2010)1

In her role at Lightspeed, Nicole helps portfolio companies build their executive teams by identifying, hiring, developing, and retaining top talent.2 She has a strong track record of recruiting top executives for companies such as Lyft, Rent The Runway, Brandless, Coinbase, Instacart, and others.2

Nicole is known for her commitment to increasing diversity in the technology industry. As a Latina born in Brazil and raised in a multi-racial family, she has dedicated her career to supporting women, people of color, and all forms of diversity in tech.2 She is a global citizen, speaking three languages and holding citizenship in three countries.2

Nicole received her BA in International Business and Finance from Seattle University.1

Highlights

Jun 29 · linkedin

Lightspeed has been committed to promoting Action, Access, and Learning in a powerful series, “Building Tomorrow’s Boardroom Today,” with a mission to drive diversity in the boardroom. Recently in NYC, we co-hosted the fourth in this series with Merline Saintil and Black Women On Boards.

The timing was profound, taking place the same week that director Deborah Riley Draper's documentary OnBoard The Film chronicling the rise of Black women on boards, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival.

Sydney Sykes and I were fortune to moderate a panel of all-stars, with wide ranging experience and insights across industries, including Celia Edwards Karam, Anita Lynch, Baron Davis, and Tammy Jones.

Building more diverse and inclusive boards and executive teams is work Lightspeed is deeply committed to, and will continue to invest in with the help of our incredible community.

A recap of the powerful discussion, including concrete takeaways, learnings and advice, as well as information on future events is linked here:

Related Questions

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Nicole North
Nicole North, photo 1
Nicole North, photo 2
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Location

San Francisco, California, United States