Phil Samper

Founding Partner

"Success of any venture capital organization is based on the quality of the people, the strength of the team's experience, the quality of investments, and the building of integrity within fund members. I am proud to say that Gabriel Venture Partners ranks at the top in all categories. It is a privilege to be a member of the team." -- Phil Samper

As a co-founder of Gabriel Venture Partners, and with experience in both operating companies and venture capital, Phil Samper identified operating experience as a critical success factor for future portfolio investments. During his more than 35 years of senior operating management and venture capital experience, Phil has developed an unparalleled ability to inspire, mentor and connect with today’s entrepreneurs. His strengths are in successfully capitalizing on the emerging trends in the Communications and Networking, Information Technology, and the Internet sectors, and in business and strategic development in general.

Venture Capital

Phil has been involved in over 20 venture capital and angel investor deals, including AccessLine Communications, CrossMedia Services, Liquid Markets, PlaceWare, Sylvan Learning Systems, and Virtual Technologies. Prior to co-founding Gabriel Venture Partners, he played an active role in the restructuring and building of portfolio companies.

Operations

During his years of operating experience, Phil held numerous CEO positions and made his mark at startup and Fortune 500 companies. His career highlights include serving as Vice-Chairman and Executive Officer at Eastman Kodak Company, where he was directly responsible for 70 percent of Kodak’s worldwide operations, and led a restructuring of the company from a functional organization to that of individual business units. During his tenure at Kodak, Forbes magazine described him as "decisive," "aggressive," "iconoclastic," and "a tough marketing executive." The Wall Street Journal credited his management skills as President of Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation in the turnaround of the computer and systems giant Sun Microsystems, Inc.’s stock. As CEO and Chairman of Cray Research, he facilitated a merger with Silicon Graphics, an action that doubled the value of the Cray stock at the time of the merger.

Consulting

Phil has undertaken consulting assignments in areas ranging from mentoring of CEOs to executive recruiting, strategic planning, and marketing direction for startup companies. In addition, he has worked with portfolio companies of St. Paul Venture Partners, Redwood Technology Ventures, and Apex Investment Partners’ Fund III.

Board Memberships and Affiliations

Phil served as non-executive chairman on the board of PlaceWare (acquired by Microsoft) and as a director of CrossMedia Services (acquired by Gannett, Knight Ridder, and Tribune). He also serves on the public board of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG). In addition, Phil serves on the Board of Visitors for the Johns Hopkins Medical Center, as well as on the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland's Clark School of Engineering.

Education and Honors

MSM - Management - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan Fellowship)
BFT, International Management – American Graduate School of International Management (1st in Class); Awarded top two Awards for Scholarship and Character
BS – Business Administration - University of California, Berkeley