Norwest, a global venture capital and growth equity investment firm, today announced the appointments of Ken Yagen as Product, AI & Technology Operating Executive and Principal, and Bryan Wise as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Principal.
Yagen and Wise will strengthen the technical leadership at Norwest by joining an existing roster of Operating Executives, AI Senior Advisors and the firm’s Data and Engineering team. Together, this bench of experts will continue to accelerate and support the Norwest portfolio through strategic advisory work and existing AI-focused programs and events.
“With the AI landscape accelerating faster than ever, our 250+ portfolio companies increasingly need hands-on expertise navigating product roadmaps, model selection, architecture decisions, and change management,” said Katie Belding, Partner of Portfolio Success at Norwest. “Ken and Bryan bring complementary, operator-led perspectives that will help us continue evolving how we invest, operate, and deliver value, both internally and externally.”
Ken Yagen to Strengthen Product, AI, and Technology Support to Norwest Portfolio
As a Product, AI & Technology Operating Executive and Principal on the Portfolio Success team, Yagen will partner closely with the investment team to advise portfolio companies on product strategy, AI enablement, talent strategy and organizational design. He will also continue to expand the firm’s AI, technology, and product leadership community, including the Norwest Operator Collective (NOC) and Senior Advisor Network.
“CEOs and leadership teams today are navigating constant change — new models, new tools, and new risks,” said Yagen. “What drew me to Norwest is the opportunity to work alongside them across that journey, helping apply AI in ways that are practical and tied to measurable business outcomes. I’m excited to empower teams to move quickly while building on the right foundations.”
Most recently, Yagen served as the Chief Product Officer at CData where he focused on advancing AI-enabled product capabilities and applying AI in pragmatic ways to improve customer value and operational efficiency. Prior to that, he served as an SVP, Value Creation at Warburg Pincus for six years, partnering with portfolio companies on product, technology, and AI-driven value creation. He has also held senior leadership roles at MuleSoft, Box, and Symphony, where he helped scale enterprise platforms and build high-performing teams.
Bryan Wise to Lead Technology Infrastructure and AI Evolution Inside Norwest
As CIO and Principal, Wise will lead Norwest’s global technology infrastructure and strategic initiatives with a focus on connecting technology, business and operations. He will also work closely with the Vice President and Head of Data, Amanda Widjaja, and the Norwest Data and Engineering team, to continue to accelerate AI adoption, enhance internal processes across Norwest and share AI enablement best practices with the portfolio.
“CIO roles in venture and growth equity have traditionally focused on internal systems,” said Wise. “What excites me about Norwest is the opportunity to take a more integrated, forward-looking approach, leveraging AI and data not just to run the firm, but to directly inform how we invest and support our portfolio companies.”
Prior to Norwest, Wise served as CIO at 6sense, where he led business technology, security, and business operations, helping drive AI transformation, strengthen enterprise security posture, and align execution to top-line growth. Earlier in his 30-year career, he held leadership roles at GitLab, Snowflake, and DocuSign. At GitLab, he helped build the systems and processes that supported a successful IPO. At Snowflake, he was the first VP of IT, scaling enterprise systems and global infrastructure during a period of hypergrowth from 400 to 2,000 employees. At DocuSign, he led IT Operations, overseeing global infrastructure, DevOps platforms, and service delivery at scale.
AI-Powered Portfolio Success
Throughout its 65-year history, Norwest has been at the forefront of multiple waves of technological transformation and guided its portfolio companies through each major shift, from the internet era to the mobile and cloud computing shift, and now the AI revolution.
Since 2013, Norwest has been offering CEOs, founders and their teams access to comprehensive advisory services, impactful resources, a vibrant community, and support in the areas of greatest value. The Norwest Portfolio Success team works closely with the firm’s investors to help its companies in key areas including talent and network development, people operations and culture, corporate development and M&A, Product, AI & Technology, Go-to-Market (GTM), and community and ecosystem.
To help portfolio companies navigate today’s landscape and enable them to deploy AI against their core business challenges, Norwest offers:
- AI Senior Advisor Network: As an extension of the Portfolio Success Team, Norwest’s Senior Advisor Network connects portfolio leaders with seasoned executives to help companies accelerate growth and scale with confidence. The network has doubled in size over the last year alone and includes AI and Product leaders from companies such as Google, Meta, Salesforce, Airbnb, LinkedIn and more.
- The Norwest Operator Collective (NOC): The NOC is a dynamic community of Data, CISO, and CXO leaders fostering thought leadership, strategic partnerships, and meaningful connections to drive growth, innovation, and success. A key focus includes advancing dialogue around the future of AI including applied AI, agents, architecture, deployment, governance, and scale.
- Accelerate: Norwest Accelerate is an early-stage program that integrates mentorship, research, and resources to help entrepreneurs swiftly validate, develop, and scale groundbreaking technologies. The program fosters innovation and entrepreneurship by leveraging the expertise of Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs), Norwest’s Operator Collective (NOC), and the comprehensive support of Norwest’s incubation ecosystem.
- Workshops and Events: Norwest hosts more than 60 workshops, webinars and events per year bringing portfolio leaders together to learn from industry experts and tackle practical use cases such as AI pricing strategies, reinforcement learning, generative engine optimization, ABM in the age of AI, responsible AI deployment, and more.
About Norwest
Norwest is a global venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $15.5 billion in capital. Since its inception, Norwest has invested in more than 700 companies and currently partners with more than 250 companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early- to late-stage businesses across key sectors with a focus on enterprise, healthcare, and consumer. The Norwest team offers a deep network of connections, extensive operating experience, and a wide range of impactful services to help CEOs and founders scale their businesses. Norwest has offices in Menlo Park and San Francisco, Calif.; Mumbai, India; and Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit www.norwest.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609783518/en/
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