YL Ventures Promotes Silicon Valley-Based John Brennan to Partner

Ofer Schreiber and I are thrilled to announce that Silicon Valley-based John Brennan, who has been with YL Ventures since 2017, has now been promoted to Partner. YL Ventures funds and supports brilliant Israeli tech entrepreneurs from seed to lead. With headquarters in Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv, YL Ventures specializes in cybersecurity.

Working closely with me, John plays a key role in continuing to develop the firm’s cybersecurity go-to-market capabilities in the United States and leads vital value-add activities for YL Ventures portfolio companies. Leveraging the firm’s massive cybersecurity business network in the U.S., he works closely with our portfolio company management teams to build and expand their pipelines of U.S. enterprise customers, strategic partners, advisors, executive hires and follow-on investors. As our firm grows in assets under management (watch this space!), so does John’s role, as we expand our capabilities to deliver our signature level of value-add service to each and every company in our portfolio.

As a key member of the YL Ventures’ executive team, John has a broad range of responsibilities at the firm, including many related to: finance, investor relations, and the oversight of YL Ventures’ proprietary Venture Advisor program of over 50 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), CIOs and CTOs across corporate America. Of course, as a member of the YL Ventures’ investment team, John plays an important role in the evaluation of new investment opportunities, including the deep and rapid collection of feedback from the firm’s expert venture advisors.

John serves as a value-adding Board Observer at several of the firm’s portfolio companies, including: Karamba Security (embedded security for connected systems), Axonius (cybersecurity asset management), Vulcan Cyber (continuous vulnerability remediation), Hunters.ai (AI-powered autonomous threat hunting), and Ride Vision (collision avoidance technology for motorcycles). These companies’ CEOs have come to rely on YL Ventures for important on-the-ground support in Silicon Valley, and as the portfolio continues to grow, so too will John’s board responsibilities, as both an Observer and Member.

Prior to YL Ventures, John was an Investment Associate at Horsley Bridge Partners, a global venture capital fund of funds, and has previously held roles with U.S. venture firms Data Collective and OCA Ventures. John holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.

It is rare to find a senior investor that combines John’s acumen with his ability to contribute so positively to the culture that is so important to a firm like YL Ventures. John has also repeatedly demonstrated the commitment and dedication required to earn and maintain the trust of an incredibly talented pool of portfolio company executives, something that is critical for the success of any investor. John is a true team player and a kind individual who cares deeply about YL Ventures and our portfolio companies, and he works very closely with every member of our team in both the Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv offices. We are delighted to see him advance in his career and contribute so meaningfully to YL Ventures’ success!