National Advisory Council

James Kissell

Membership Information:

Member Since: 2025

Spouse:

Stephanie Gaufin

Contact Information:

Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameskissell/

Employment:

Job Title: Partner
Company: Andreessen Horowitz

Expertise:

• finance
• technology
• startups
• GTM
• partnerships

Biography:

James Kissell is currently a partner at the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz on its platform team. He joined a16z in 2016 and supports its portfolio business development efforts where he spends the majority of his time advising technology leaders from enterprises of all sizes and industries on current technology trends and fast-growing startups to partner with. Prior to a16z, James worked at Google in New York City, where he led strategic sales and partnerships for several of Google's ad products. Before Google, he started and sold a consumer services business in Utah. James earned his bachelor's degree in economics with a business minor from BYU and earned his MBA from Columbia University. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, skiing, and making gingerbread houses during the winter. In 2022, one of his gingerbread houses went viral on social media, garnering more than 20M views. James and his wife, Stephanie Gaufin (also a NAC member), live with their two children in San Francisco.