William E. (Bill) Mitchell is the Founding Partner of Sequel Venture Partners, LLC (www.sequelvp.com, formerly Sequel Capital Management, LLC), formed in January 2011 to support companies, not-for-profits, and individuals who provide innovative products and services that make our world a better place. Bill invests to make a difference.

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Sequel provides transformational capital, breakthrough strategic thinking and management expertise to game-changing companies ranging from early stage start-ups to mid-level enterprises, primarily in the technology sector. Bill serves as an advisor or board member to many of the companies in the Sequel Venture Partners portfolio; he is also affiliated with Sage Partners, a Boston-based consulting firm comprised of experienced senior executives specializing in corporate governance and venture acceleration.

Prior to his work with Sequel and Sage, Bill served as President, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW), a $23B Fortune 120 company providing global distribution and advanced supply chain solutions to the technology industry. He started his career at Raychem Corporation, where he rose to become President, Raychem International Corporation, with responsibility for operations in the Americas ex the US, Asia Pacific including Japan and China, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. He then moved to become President and Chief Executive Officer of Nashua Corporation, at that time a NYSE manufacturer of specialty products and services for print application needs (now private). He became Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sequel, Inc., a privately held computer services company, in 1998. Bill then led the acquisition of Sequel, Inc. by Solectron Corporation (now part of Flextronics International), where he formed Solectron Global Services and built a $1.2B technology services company via the acquisition of multiple services companies worldwide.

Now, through Sequel, Bill pursues opportunities that leverage his years of corporate leadership into growth, operating and management strategies for companies who share his mission to make a difference, locally and around the world.

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Bill currently serves on the Board of Directors of Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM); Veritiv, Inc. (NYSE: VRTV); and Trace3, a premier provider of IT solutions and engineering services. He has served on the Board of Directors of Rogers Corporation (NYSE: ROG); National Semiconductor prior to its sale to Texas Instruments; the Brown-Forman Corporation; and Spansion, Inc.

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Bill is also active with educational institutions where he works to maximize the impact and reach of key research, technology and philanthropic programs. He serves as a Director of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Technology Development Corporation, which has oversight responsibility for the 1+B$ Intellectual Property portfolio of the University. He is a member of the Executive Board of the UCLA School of Theatre Film and Television that has oversight responsibility for the academic and artistic programs of this top ranked program.

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Bill earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Princeton University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his master’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan where he was named a National Science Foundation Fellow. He has also served as a member of the University of Michigan College of Engineering Advisory Council.