General Catalyst hires Adam Valkin from Accel’s London office

Six months after the departure of cofounder John Simon, General Catalyst Partners has scooped up Adam Valkin from Accel Partners, where he has worked since April 2010.

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Valkin will dedicate his time to sourcing early-stage investment opportunities, and will work with the firm’s existing portfolio companies, which include HubSpot, Airbnb, GoodData and Taleo. Valkin, who previously worked out of Accel’s London office, is relocating to Boston to assume his new role.

In an interview, he said the primary driver was personal as his family lives in Boston. “This was a friendly move,” he said, adding that General Catalyst was a “natural choice” as the firms have often worked together in the past.

At Accel, Valkin focused broadly on Internet and mobile services, gaming and payments. With roots in London, Valkin had a front row seat to some of the most promising Israeli startups — he made investments in MyHeritage and mobile gaming startup DragonPlay. His investment portfolio also includes Spotify, SeekingAlpha, and $5 tasks marketplace Fiverr.

Prior to joining Accel, Valkin worked as the Global Head of Digital Media and New Business at Endemol, the European television production company. He was also a co-founder, investor and briefly interim CEO of LOVEFiLM, which sold to Amazon.com in 2011. Previously, he worked for Barnes & Noble and Firefly Network, later acquired by Microsoft.

General Catalyst is a long-time partner with Accel; the firms have frequently joined up in funding hot startups like Brightcove over the years. General Catalyst has been slowly creeping into the media spotlight with recent investments in buzzy startups, such as CouchSurfing and TuneIn. It has proven to be one of the most progressive of the traditional firms with its interest in data-driven investing.

Top image credit: LeWeb / Flickr