Bessemer Venture Partners hires Shannon Brayton as first CMO

Bessemer Venture Partners has hired Shannon Brayton as its first CMO and partner. 

She will lead marketing and communications for the venture capital firm and its portfolio companies, reporting to CFO Sandy Grippo. Brayton is set to start at Bessemer on May 4.

Brayton’s most recent full-time role was at LinkedIn, where she ultimately served as CMO. Her tenure at the professional social network included its initial public offering in 2011 and acquisition by Microsoft five years later. Melissa Selcher took over as LinkedIn’s chief marketing and communications officer in January 2020.

Before Bessemer, Brayton had planned to join payment processing software company Stripe in January, but the arrangement fell through.

“In the end, the Stripe role didn't end up working out and I never started there, but I think it's a fantastic company and wish them all the best,” Brayton said via email. 

Brayton has more than a quarter-century of experience working with technology companies, including leading global teams at OpenTable and eBay. She sits on the board of Vidyard, Quizlet and Relativity and is an angel investor in more than 30 companies. 

"I have worked in Silicon Valley for almost 27 years, but have never been deeply exposed to the venture capital side, so I'm really thrilled to dive into something new and feel like I found a great fit in Bessemer," Brayton said.