Tony Florence

Tony Florence is Co-CEO and a General Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), one of the world's largest and longest-running venture capital firms (founded 1977). In April 2024, NEA named Florence and Mohamad Makhzoumi Co-CEOs, while long-time leader Scott Sandell moved to the role of Executive Chairman and Chief Investment Officer. Before becoming Co-CEO, Florence served as Co-President and, prior to that, as Managing General Partner, Technology (a role he was elevated to in 2021), where he led and oversaw NEA's global technology investing practices across both enterprise and consumer sectors.

Florence joined NEA in 2008 and was named General Partner in 2012. His investing practice concentrates on growth-stage software and internet companies, with particular emphasis on SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, and consumer-brand businesses. NEA typically directs the majority of its capital toward the technology practice he has led.

Prior to venture capital, Florence spent over a decade at Morgan Stanley, where he was a Managing Director and Head of Technology Investment Banking in New York, covering the software and internet sectors, and served on the firm's North American management committee. He earned both a BA (in Economics) and an MBA from Dartmouth College.

Florence describes his approach as founder-centric: *"I have a 'people-first' mindset in life and investing. It's what grounds my intuition and acts as my inspiration."* He is generally regarded as a hands-on, long-term board partner and mentor to founders.

• Stage: Focuses on growth-stage investments, though NEA participates across seed through late/growth rounds.
• Sectors: Software and internet — with emphasis on SaaS, marketplaces, e-commerce, and consumer/digital-commerce brands, plus enterprise technology.
• What makes him say yes: Category-defining potential, strong brand power, durable/scalable business models, and — by his own account — exceptional founders and teams ("people-first" mindset).
• Style: Long-term, hands-on board involvement and founder mentorship rather than passive capital; leverages an investment-banking background in scaling and taking companies public.