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Ray Rothrock (born in 1954) is an American venture capitalist and philanthropist in Silicon Valley. He spent 25 years at Venrock first in New York City and then in Palo Alto, California, retiring in 2013 to pursue independent investing. In 2013, Forbes ranked Rothrock #63 on its Midas List of Top Tech investors ; he ranked #49 in 2012.

Early life
Rothrock was born in Fort_Worth,_Texas. The younger of two boys, he graduated from Carter Riverside High School. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and earned the highest rank attainable of Eagle Scout. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear engineering, summa cum laude, from Texas A&M University in 1977, a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering from MIT in 1978, and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School in 1988.

Career
Rothrock joined Yankee Atomic Electric Company in 1978 as a nuclear engineer performing thermal and hydraulic safety analysis and licensing support for the Yankee Rowe Nuclear Plant, [now decommissioned] in Rowe, Massachusetts. He later joined Exxon Minerals in Houston, Texas where he performed nuclear safety analysis for solution mining operations. In 1981, Rothrock moved to Silicon Valley and participated in three start ups, including Sun Microsystems, where he was introduced to venture capital. He obtained his professional engineer’s license in 1983.

Venture capital
Rothrock joined at Venrock in 1988. While at Venrock he sponsored 53 direct investments and participated in over 350 company financings. Eight of Ray’s company’s had successful IPOs.

In 2008 Rothrock was elected to the Board of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and joined its Executive Committee in 2011. He was elected Chair of the Board in 2012.

In 2010, Rothrock testified to the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.

In 2011, Rothrock became a co-executive producer of Pandora’s Promise, a documentary film that debuted at the 2013 Sundance Festival that explains the role of nuclear energy from the vantage five anti-nuclear environmentalist turned pro nuclear.

In 2018 Rothrock published “Digital Resilience: Is Your Company Ready for the Next Cyber Threat” with foreword by Richard A. Clarke (HarperCollins Leadership).

Awards
In 2023, Rothrock was named recipient of the Texas A&M Hagler Institute’s Frank Malina Award for contributions to art, science, and economics.

In 2016, Rothrock was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M Univesrity.

In 2013, Rothrock was named a Distinguished Engineer of Texas A&M University.

In 2013, Rothrock was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of the Nuclear Science and Engineering for his contributions to the Institute and department.

In 2008, Rothrock received the Benedictine Medal from the Woodside Priory School.

Forbes Midas List

Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society 2015 Distinguished Alumnus

Woodside Priory School Benedictine Medal recipient

Service
National Venture Capital Association Chair

Congressional Testimony

Publications, Productions
Digital Resilience

Pandora’s Promise – executive producer

Emmy Nominated “Chasing the Moon” producer

Trailblazers: The Fortune Teller.

Other current and past roles

 * MIT Corporation (Director)


 * Saint Anselm College (Trustee)


 * Council on Foreign Relations (member)


 * UTIMCO (Vide Chairman)


 * NTI (Director)


 * Carnegie Science (Director)


 * Third Way (Director)


 * BreakThrough Institute (Director)


 * National Technology Security Coalition (Director)


 * Aerospace Corporation (Director)


 * Roku (Director)


 * Check Point Software (Director)


 * Team 8 (Director)


 * RedSeal, Inc. (Director)

Personal Life
Ray Rothrock is married is Meredith Rothrock and they have an adult son. They reside in Portola Valley, California.