Bio

Richard de Silva is the founder and managing partner of Lateral, and chairman of its investment committee. His primary responsibilities include overseeing investment and operations professionals, underwriting new investments, portfolio management and fundraising. Mr. de Silva is currently a member of the boards of directors of several companies in which Lateral has invested, including New Life Forest Restoration, Morae Global, FTE Networks, US Home Rentals and Benchmark Builders. Richard was previously involved with Dacor (sold to Samsung). Before founding Lateral, Richard was a Managing Director at Highland Capital Partners in their Boston and Menlo Park offices, where he focused on growth equity investments in software and Internet companies. Highland Capital Partners is a global venture capital firm founded in 1987 that has raised $3 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 270 companies, resulting in category-defining businesses across consumer and enterprise technology. Prior to Highland, Richard also has held operating roles in several companies as an entrepreneur and senior executive including as co-founder of IronPlanet, a marketplace for construction equipment, sold to Ritchie Brothers (NYSE:RBA). He also worked as an engagement manager at Oliver Wyman Consulting with a focus on the emerging technology and media industries. Richard started his career as a reporter for the Washington Post and Newsweek magazine Richard received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge and an A.B. from Harvard College. Richard’s graduate research focused on post-war Anglo-American cooperation in cryptanalysis, intelligence operations and national security. He is an avid weekend tennis player and his post-pandemic bucket list includes travelling with his wife and two sons to all four Grand Slam events.