PALO ALTO, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), a leading growth equity investor focused on premier technology companies, announced today that Erik Blachford and Barry McCarthy have joined TCV as venture partners. Both Mr. Blachford and Mr. McCarthy previously held long and successful senior leadership positions at two of TCV’s most successful portfolio companies, Expedia and Netflix.
Mr. Blachford previously was president and CEO of IAC Travel, managing all of the company’s travel assets, including Expedia, Hotels.com and Hotwire. Mr. Blachford joined IAC when it acquired Expedia, Inc., a TCV portfolio company, where he served as president and CEO. Mr. McCarthy formerly served as CFO of Netflix, a TCV portfolio company and the world’s leading streaming video business with over 20 million subscribers. Both Mr. Blachford and Mr. McCarthy are based in the firm’s Palo Alto headquarters, and they will focus on existing investments and opportunities in the Internet space.
“We are tremendously excited to have Erik and Barry join the TCV team. We have worked very closely with them both for years, and they have been instrumental in driving the growth of some of our most successful portfolio companies,” said Woody Marshall, TCV general partner. “As venture partners, Erik and Barry bring deep management and operational experience, along with extensive networks within the Internet industry that will be invaluable to our portfolio and in attracting new investments.”
About Erik Blachford
Mr. Blachford joined IAC with its acquisition of Expedia, a TCV portfolio company. He helped establish Expedia within Microsoft in 1995 where he led the creation of the brand as senior vice president of marketing; he later served as the president of Expedia North America, and ultimately was named president and CEO in 2003. Mr. Blachford currently serves as the executive chairman of TerraPass, a leading retailer of carbon offsets, consumer energy efficiency products, and green gifts, as well as chairman of Butterfield & Robinson, a world leader in top quality active travel. He also serves as a director for Zillow, a TCV portfolio company, and GlassDoor.
“I have enjoyed working with TCV’s principals for more than a decade in my roles at Expedia and IAC and have always admired their investment strategy and success in attracting some of the world’s most innovative Internet companies to their portfolio,” said Mr. Blachford. “I am excited to join the TCV team, and I look forward to contributing to the firm’s growth-stage investments, sourcing new opportunities, and helping portfolio companies reach their full potential.”
About Barry McCarthy
Mr. McCarthy joined Netflix in 1999 where he was responsible for the company’s financial and legal affairs, most recently serving as CFO. Prior to joining Netflix, he spent six years as the senior vice president and CFO at Music Choice, a music programming service distributed over direct broadcast satellite and cable systems. Mr. McCarthy also has held several positions at Credit Suisse First Boston where he worked with venture capital-backed and leveraged buyout investments. He currently serves as a director on the boards of Chegg, Pandora and Wealthfront.
“I am thrilled to join the TCV team after having had the opportunity to work with many of the firm’s partners for the last several years,” said Mr. McCarthy. “I’ve always been impressed by their growth equity strategy and ability to find, attract and invest in some of the industry’s leading technology companies. I look forward to helping TCV’s portfolio companies achieve their goals for expansion and market leadership, as well as cultivating new investments in the Internet sector.”
About TCV
Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), founded in 1995, is a leading provider of growth capital to technology companies, providing funds to later-stage private and public companies. With $7.7 billion in capital under management, TCV has made growth equity, PIPE and recapitalization investments in over 170 companies leading to 47 initial public offerings and more than 30 strategic sales or mergers. Representative investments include Altiris, C|NET, eHarmony, Expedia, Facebook, Fandango, Groupon, HomeAway, Liquidnet, Netflix, Orbitz, RealNetworks, Redback Networks, RiskMetrics Group, Solect Technology, TechTarget, TradingScreen, Travelport, Webroot and Zillow. TCV has 12 partners and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California with offices in New York, NY. For more information about TCV, visit www.tcv.com.