Draft:Don Vieira

Donald L. Vieira (born June 1 1973) is an American lawyer and former U.S. national security official. He is Sequoia Capital’s senior partner in Washington and managed the firm’s discussions with the U.S. government during a period when the firm faced criticism for its China ties. He is credited with creating a screening mechanism in response to U.S. government pressure over activities of Sequoia’s former China arm. He later was involved in Sequoia Capital’s global separation, including from HongShan, formerly known as Sequoia China.

He has served in several positions within the U.S. government, including as Chief of Staff of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Deputy Chief Counsel to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), Staff Director for HPSCI’s Subcommittee on Investigations, and as a federal prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Counterespionage Section. Additionally, Vieira serves as a member of the board of directors of Hakluyt & Company, the National Venture Capital Association, and Genuity Science. He was named a Washingtonian Tech Titan and one of Washington’s most influential people. He is a councilor of the Portuguese Diaspora Council.

Early life and education

Vieira was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts to an Azorean immigrant family. His parents, Luis and Maria Vieira, immigrated to the United States from Terceira, an island in the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region of Portugal. He is the youngest of their six children. He began working at the age of 9, delivering newspapers in New Bedford. He was a linebacker for the New Bedford High School Whalers football team and stage manager of the school’s award winning Drama Club productions.

He graduated cum laude from Boston University in 1995 with a BA in political science, and received his J.D. cum laude from Georgetown Law School, where he was a Georgetown University Law Center Gillis-Pollock Scholar.

Career

Following graduation from law school, Vieira worked as an associate at DC law firm of Williams & Connolly. He left in 2005 to become a federal prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Counterespionage Section. He then served as Deputy Chief Counsel and Subcommittee Staff Director to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and Staff Director for HPSCI’s Subcommittee on Investigations. He returned to the Department of Justice in 2009 as Chief of Staff and Counselor of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. In this role he worked closely with the U.S. Assistant Attorney General David Kris.

Vieira received numerous awards while in government service, including from the Attorney General of the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Vieira returned to private law practice in 2011 to become a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR), where he founded and chaired the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and cyber practices. He became a senior partner at the law firm of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in 2017.

Sequoia hired Viera as a partner from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, reportedly to bring experience managing national security and foreign investment issues. He initially served as both the Global Chief Legal and Global Chief Policy Officer. After founding Sequoia’s first global policy operation, he played a role in managing Sequoia’s leadership transition from Douglas Leone to Roelof Botha, following Leone’s retirement as Sequoia’s Steward. Vieira later played an important role in Sequoia Capital’s global separation, in which the firm split into three independent entities, including from HongShan, formerly known as Sequoia China. Following the separation, Vieira became the Chief Policy Officer of Sequoia Capital, and also serves as counselor to Sequoia’s managing partner.

External links

Don Vieira Sequoia profile

National Venture Capital Association Board of Direcors

Portuguese Diaspora Council profile