Mark Fernandes is a Managing Director and focuses on consumer internet and infrastructure software investments. His investments include Frontbridge Technologies (acquired by Microsoft), Opalis Software (acquired by Microsoft) and Sourcefire (NASD: FIRE) and he has served as a board observer at Net6 (acquired by Citrix Systems) and Permeo (acquired by Blue Coat Systems). He currently serves on the boards of the following private companies: Ooyala and Spotzer Media Group.

Mark started his career in engineering and product management at Seagate Technology, spending extensive time in Asia at their disk drive manufacturing facilities. He was then a product manager in the networking and security groups at Cisco Systems. After business school, Mark spent almost five years in equity research covering software companies, first as an analyst at Robertson Stephens and then as a Director at Merrill Lynch. “I had a unique opportunity to observe and analyze the best software companies and the most talented management teams, as they grew from their IPOs to large multi-billion dollar companies”, notes Mark. He joined Sierra Ventures in 2002.

Born in Mumbai, India, Mark holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Mangalore University, a MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a MBA from Harvard University. He also works with the India Literacy Project, helping the non-profit organization secure greater exposure and raise additional funds to improve literacy in India.