Terry McGuire of Polaris Venture Partners Elected NVCA Chairman

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today named Terry McGuire, co-founder and managing partner of Polaris Venture Partners, as its 2009-2010 chairman of the board of directors. The announcement was made at the 2009 NVCA Annual Meeting today in Boston at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel.

"Although the NVCA has long been an advocate for public policies that encourage innovation and economic growth, our work today is as important as ever. It is critical that the government and the venture capital industry continue working together to support risk-taking and long term investment so that we as investors can continue to create new jobs and bring breakthrough technologies to market," said McGuire. "The venture industry is poised to play an important role in our country's economic recovery and I am honored to help lead the Association at such an important time."

Mr. McGuire succeeds Dixon Doll of DCM, who completed his one-year term as 2008-2009 chairman. Mr. Doll played a leadership role in the development of the NVCA's recommendations to mend the nation's capital market system for venture-backed companies.

"Over the last year, Dixon Doll has been instrumental in his position as chairman in bringing together leading players within the capital markets ecosystem to identify and analyze root problems associated with the venture-backed IPO market. The recommendations that were developed from his fine work will serve as a cornerstone for our approach to this paramount issue going forward," said Mark Heesen, NVCA president. "We also find ourselves extremely fortunate to welcome Terry McGuire to the position of chairman for the next year. Terry's deep understanding of the venture capital industry and his commitment to promoting important public policies will serve our industry very well. As a former serial entrepreneur and a long time life sciences venture investor, Terry brings a well-rounded perspective that will be instrumental in communicating our views on various issues."

The NVCA also elected six new incoming board members. They are Michael Elliott, Noro-Moseley Partners; Michael Greeley, Flybridge Capital Partners; Josh Green, Mohr, Davidow Ventures; James Marver, VantagePoint Venture Partners; Jason Mendelson, Foundry Group; and Sherrill Neff, Quaker BioVentures. Additionally, Kate Mitchell of Scale Venture Partners was named NVCA Chairwoman elect for 2010-11.

Retiring from the NVCA board of directors after successfully completing their four year terms during which time they were instrumental in moving forward the policies and activities of the NVCA are Dan Broderick, Prolog Ventures; Tom Crotty, Battery Ventures; Rob Soni, Matrix Partners; David Spreng Crescendo Ventures; and Bess Weatherman, Warburg Pincus.

About Terry McGuire

Prior to forming Polaris Venture Partners, Terry spent seven years at Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. investing in early stage medical and information technology companies. Terry began his career in venture capital at Golder, Thoma and Cressey in Chicago.

Terry has co-founded three companies: Inspire Pharmaceuticals, AIR (Advanced Inhalation Research, Inc.), and MicroCHIPS. He currently represents Polaris on the boards of directors of Acceleron Pharma, AdiMAB, Arsenal Medical Inc., Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Life Line Screening, MicroCHIPS, Inc., Pulmatrix Inc., Tempo Pharmaceuticals and Trevena, Inc.

In addition to his chairmanship at NVCA, Terry serves on the boards of the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College (Chair); MIT's The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at HBS.

Terry earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, MS in engineering from The Thayer School at Dartmouth College, and BS in physics and economics from Hobart College. He is a recipient of the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences, awarded by Forbes/Gottlieb Medical Technology Investor, Harvard MIT Biomedical Engineering Center, the New Jerusalem Foundation, the Jerusalem Development Authority, and Rodman and Renshaw.

About National Venture Capital Association

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) represents approximately 450 venture capital firms in the United States. NVCA's mission is to foster greater understanding of the importance of venture capital to the U.S. economy and support entrepreneurial activity and innovation. According to a 2009 Global Insight study, venture-backed companies accounted for 12.1 million jobs and $2.9 trillion in revenue in the United States in 2008. The NVCA represents the public policy interests of the venture capital community, strives to maintain high professional standards, provides reliable industry data, sponsors professional development, and facilitates interaction among its members. For more information about the NVCA, please visit www.nvca.org .

Contact: Channa Brooks Middleberg Communications 202-641-6959 cbrooks@middlebergcommunications.com Emily Mendell NVCA 610-565-3904 emendell@nvca.org