Phil Wickham
COO
Sozo Ventures
Phil Wickham is a Founder and General Partner of Sozo Ventures. In addition to Sozo, Mr. Wickham serves as the President and CEO of the Center for Venture Education in Palo Alto, California. Mr. Wickham oversees all aspects of the Center for Venture Education, which is developing the next generation of leaders in venture capital through its Kauffman Fellows Program. Along with Mr. Nakamura, he also co-launched the CPIN collaboration between Japan’s Ministry of Economy and the Kauffman Fellows Program with endorsement by the US Embassy.
Mr. Wickham is a veteran venture investor and startup entrepreneur. Early in his career he co-founded the publishing company Reference Media in Tokyo, Japan, grew it to scale and sold it to the Princeton Review, where he became VP of Sales for Japan and Korea. Later, Mr. Wickham served as General Partner at JAFCO America Ventures, a billion-dollar fund backed by leading Japanese financial and technology players such as Hitachi, Mitsubishi, NEC, Itochu, Nomura, and Nippon Life Insurance. Mr. Wickham went on to become a partner and run U.S. operations for Copan, a European venture fund based in Munich, Germany, where he also served on the Board. He has shepherded more than 30 investments, including Ikanos, Web Methods, Com21, and Emergent. Mr. Wickham currently serves on the board of S2 Technologies, Trilibis, and Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE), and is an advisor to the Creandum fund in Stockholm.
Mr. Wickham holds a BS from the Aerospace Mechanical Engineering School at the University of Arizona, and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was a Charter Class member of the Kauffman Fellows Program, serving his fellowship at OneLiberty/Flagship Ventures in Boston with mentor Ed Kania.
Sozo Ventures
Phil Wickham, Founder, General Partner
Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA
www.sozo.ventures
Sozo Ventures was formed in 2011 to invest in and support IT ventures with their global expansion. We invest in category leaders in advanced data technologies, ecommerce, enterprise cloud, fintech, IOT and healthcare IT, among other emerging sectors. We are structured to connect the most ambitious entrepreneurial teams with the world’s most advanced and respected customers and distributors. We are at our best when we can share our expertise well before expansion strategies are set.