Black-Owned VC Firm Hires Its First-Ever COO: Meet Jennifer Randle
Black-owned venture capital firm, MaC Venture Capital, has hired finance and operations veteran Jennifer Randle as its first Chief Operating Officer (COO).
MaC Venture Capital
MaC was launched in 2019 by four founding partners: former Washington D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, former talent agent Charles D. King, VC veteran Marlon Nichols, and investor Michael Planak.
The firm had its first $100 million fund in 2021 in seed-stage funding and a second $203 million in 2022.
The team uses their skills and knowledge to support the next generation of tech companies, focusing on reshaping the culture and providing resources to underrepresented communities.
Recently, they led investments into startups such as the Black-owned Spill app – touted as the new home for Black Twitter, climate tech startup giant BlocPower and Mansa, a streaming service centered on Black culture.
Read: Black-Owned Diversity-Focused VC Firm Cornerstone VC Welcomes First Female Partner
They have now brought the new COO, Jennifer Randle, to double down on its investment framework to support technology startups shaping culture.
Jennifer Randle
Randle is a finance and accounting executive from The Chernin Group, a multi-stage investment firm that seeks to invest in and build best-in-class companies.
She led finance and operations at their team for a decade and is now joining MaC to support firm operations from finance and accounting to investor relations and IT.
“I wanted to be able to take all the things I have learned over the last 20-plus years and help build a firm and be part of something so amazing and special,” Randle said.
Employing Randle marks MaC’s commitment to creating a firm representing the communities the company invests in.
“In an industry lacking leaders that look like us, we at MaC take pride in building a team representative of the founders and communities we aim to elevate,” said Marlon Nichols, Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at MaC Venture Capital.
“Jennifer is a true personification of that commitment.”
With the lack of representation of hiring, investing and growth of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and women in the VC space, they said Randle’s appointment to the team is much needed.
Black individuals only comprise 4% of investors at VC firms, and women account for less than 15% of checkwriters.
Over 50% of MaC’s team identifies as Black, and more than a quarter as women.
