The Chief of Staff is a powerful force transforming venture.
Humans have always had an innate drive to compete, and venture capital partners are no exception. The stakes are getting higher and higher. Partners are competing in a venture capital landscape increasingly characterized by huge demands on partner time, growing competition, and rapidly changing global market dynamics. Our research reveals that the Chief of Staff role is key to achieving top spots on venture capital’s league tables, influencing the deployment of $55.5B capital at the world’s largest venture firms.
Since the pandemic started, Cedar has been helping our clients become fast and fearless leaders in times of extreme uncertainty and change. Increasingly, cycles of disruption have made operating as a top leader even more difficult, as the world becomes more and more unpredictable.
In our findings from our 2025 Venture Chief of Staff Industry Report, based on more than two dozen conversations with venture partners and Chiefs of Staff, we look at the challenges that GPs face, as well as the successful partnerships they forge with their trusted right hands to become top performing investors, finding the next unicorns.
The results show that top venture capital partners are starting to leverage this specialized role and build a true Office of the Partner to stay fiercely competitive in a market with less and less liquidity. Data from our research lends support to the idea that new operating models and ways of working are driving a quiet revolution, leading to material gains in deal flow and LP dollars. The winners will be those that compete the fiercest, by partnering with a Chief of Staff.
$55.5 billion
capital optimized with Chiefs of Staff at top VC firms
$90.5 billion
capital optimization opportunity by hiring Chiefs of Staff at top VC firms
Venture has always been characterized by flashy deals, hotshot CEOs and provocative statements on how innovation will transform societies for good. But behind the glitz and the glamor of deal announcements and IPOs, the drudgery of everyday work persists for partners to source new deals, fundraise in tough markets, and run day-to-day firm operations. In the coming years, Chiefs of Staff will continue to be deployed across the largest firms, while select upstart firms bring this role on to gain a competitive edge. The war for talent rages on as the role becomes more formalized and standardized across the industry.
Mackenzie Lee, CEO & Founder
