GCV Powerlist 2016: Melinda Rogers, Rogers

Melinda Rogers is the founder of Rogers Venture Partners (RVP), the corporate venturing unit of Canada-based telecoms group Rogers Communications, and a senior vice-president of strategy and development on the parent company’s board.

She has been senior vice-president of strategy and development at Rogers Communications since 2006 and, as the oldest natural daughter of the company’s founder, Ted Rogers, has a powerful place in the organisation. He wrote in his autobiography – Relentless – that Melinda was the child who was most like him.

She is chairman of the Jays Care Foundation and a director of Rogers Communications among other boards seats and advisory roles, including on the governing council of University of Toronto and Next Issue Media. She holds a BA from University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Joseph L Rotman School of Business at University of Toronto.

At RVP, her team includes general partners Mike Lee, Will Stewart and Paul Sestili, with Jim Hinson as chief operating officer and Michael Kim as a principal.

Sestili, who a GCV Rising Star 2016, came to RVP two years ago after spending 16 years in venture capital in Silicon Valley.

In January, Sestili said: “We have an active portfolio of about 15 companies and have had a couple exits [five: Cognitive Networks, Grid Centric, Ruckus Wireless, RainStor and Zoove]. Our biggest success has been building a stellar team of investment professionals.”

RVP’s current portfolio includes Five Stars, a marketing company, Texture, an all-you-can-eat magazine app, and Yodle, local internet marketing.