Mark Hawkins

Venture Partner
Technology
US
Seed/Early
Growth

Mark joined NEA in 2023 and is a Venture Partner focused on technology investments. He currently serves on the public board of directors of Workday, Cloudflare, and Toast. Before joining NEA, Mark was President and CFO of Salesforce. Throughout the course of his career he’s held executive financial positions at Autodesk, Logitech, Dell, and HP. He holds a BA in operations management from Michigan State University and an MBA from University of Colorado. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Interview
Companies
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You’ve been in several operational roles throughout your career. How has that experience shaped your approach to investing?

My operational experience has helped me feel more grounded and clear when I look at investment opportunities. I assess opportunities thoroughly, and I’m able to recognize patterns of success and potential problem areas that may not be as obvious at the surface level. I’m able to make investments with informed realism, instead of uninformed optimism.

How do you empathize with a founder?

For me it starts with having an immense appreciation and respect for them and their commitment to the success of their vision. They’re “all in” all of the time. It’s important to remember that they sit on a different part of the risk frontier, so they’re faced with a different set of pressures.

What’s one question that every founder should be asking a potential investor?

What do you bring to our team in addition to investment dollars? It’s important to seek out smart money, not just money. You want investors who have a range of capabilities, a wide network, deep experience, and a willingness to contribute beyond just investment dollars.

What’s an opportunity you’re excited to see being addressed within the areas you’re focused in?

I’m particularly excited to see Agentic AI becoming an extraordinary opportunity to transform organizations from the inside out. Beyond driving major operational efficiencies, it is completely redefining what is possible.  It is paving the way for innovative products and services that deliver durable customer success. Crucially, we are seeing the emergence of innovative new business models designed to successfully monetize these agentic AI capabilities and capture the immense value they generate. This super cycle of automation is just getting started, and the go forward opportunities are massive.

What inspires you to stay curious?

I embrace a beginner’s mind. I love to learn! Learning is like R&D at an individual level. Every company should invest in R&D, as should every professional individual. Continuous learning is incredibly powerful because it keeps you at the frontier of innovation and improvement. Just like compound interest, "compounded learning" builds exponentially over time, helping us grow, adapt, and meaningfully contribute to success in a rapidly changing world.

What nonprofit organizations are you involved with? Why are they important to you?

I serve as an Ambassador for A4S.org, a nonprofit founded by His Majesty, King Charles. The goal of the organization is to educate the global financial community on how to integrate sustainable business practices directly into corporate decision making. It allows me the opportunity to work alongside top CFOs and financial leaders to implement pragmatic actions that preserve natural resources, while continuing to drive long-term enterprise value and commercial success. Prior to this, I served for years as the Chair of the A4S.org Global Advisory Council and co-founded the A4S.org USA CFO Leadership network.

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Induction into the Six Star Finishers Hall of Fame

Companies

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5 Lessons for Harnessing AI in Corporate Finance

Blog

Mark Hawkins, NEA Venture Partner