John Hartnett

Managing Partner at SVG Ventures · Joined 2010

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Biography

John Hartnett is listed as Managing Partner on the SVG Ventures team page and is described on THRIVE's team page and in the firm's press releases as Founder & CEO of SVG Ventures | THRIVE. His own bio states he spent nine years at Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) as Executive Vice President of Global Markets and played a lead role in the 2003 merger and integration of Palm and Handspring, and that he was previously Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing & Operations at MetaCreations (Nasdaq: MCRE) and held senior management positions at Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Computer, at AT&T/Teradata and at Digital Equipment (DEC). The bio states he founded the Irish Technology Leadership Group in 2007, served on the US Secretary of State's Northern Ireland Economic Working Committee in 2009, and created the Forbes AgTech Summit as a joint venture with Forbes Media. It also states he has served on private and public boards including Aer Lingus; no current board seat is stated by the firm or by any portfolio company page found, so none is recorded here. He holds a graduate qualification from the Marketing Institute of Ireland, a post graduate diploma in accounting and finance, and completed executive management programs at Stanford University and Harvard University.

Education

Previous Experience

Notable Investments

Brilliant HarvestVerdiEF PolymerPairtree Intelligence

Career Timeline

2003
Played a lead role in the merger and integration of Palm and Handspring, per his SVG Ventures bio.
2007
Founded the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), per his SVG Ventures bio.
2009
Served on the US Secretary of State's Northern Ireland Economic Working Committee, per his SVG Ventures bio.
2010
SVG Ventures is formed in Silicon Valley; he is described by the firm as its Founder and CEO.
2023
Quoted as CEO of SVG Ventures | THRIVE in the firm's 6 December 2023 announcement of the Pairtree Intelligence investment from the Pioneer Fund.
2025
Quoted as Founder & CEO of SVG Ventures | THRIVE in the firm's announcements of the Brilliant Harvest, Verdi and EF Polymer investments.

Sources & References

SVG Ventures - Team (current roster, checked 7 September 2026) ↗SVG Ventures - John Hartnett bio ↗THRIVE Agrifood - John Hartnett bio ↗THRIVE Agrifood - SVG Ventures Invests $500,000 in Brilliant Harvest (22 May 2025) ↗THRIVE Agrifood - Verdi raises $6.5M (15 May 2025) ↗THRIVE Agrifood - SVG Ventures Sunrise Agri Fund invests in EF Polymer (30 Sept 2025) ↗SVG Ventures - Pairtree Intelligence secures investment from SVG Ventures Pioneer Fund (6 Dec 2023) ↗BetaKit - SVG Ventures Thrive aims to raise $75 million CAD for third agrifood fund ↗THRIVE Agrifood - Eight UK agritech companies selected for Innovate UK and SVG Ventures US expansion programme (1 June 2026) ↗THRIVE Agrifood - Manitoba First Fund LP commitment to SVG Ventures | THRIVE Pioneer Fund (8 Dec 2025) ↗