Chris Varelas (USA)

Co-founder of Riverwood Capital

Chris Varelas is a founding partner of Riverwood Capital, a private equity firm investing in high-growth technology companies like Alog, ForgeRock, and GoPro. He has personally invested in ventures such as FIGS and Berkeley Lights.

Before Riverwood, Chris was Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecom Investment Banking at Salomon Brothers/Citi, focusing on landmark M&A transactions including Compaq/HP and Peoplesoft/Oracle. He was named one of the 100 most important dealmakers by the New York Times. Chris serves on the Board of Trustees for the Aspen Institute, co-founded the Aspen Finance Leaders Fellowship, and holds board positions with Nextdoor and Insider.com. He earned an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Occidental College, where he received the 2020 SEAL Award for Professional Achievement. Chris authored "How Money Became Dangerous," exploring our relationship with modern finance.