Andreessen Horowitz Taps Former D.C. Mayor as Special Adviser

The venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is adding another Washington insider to its team, reflecting Silicon Valley's growing focus on regulatory matters.

On Wednesday, the firm announced that it has tapped Adrian Fenty, a former D.C. mayor, as a special adviser. Last year, Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary, came on board in the same role.

Mr. Fenty, who served as mayor from 2007 to 2011, is best known for aggressively pursuing education reform in the district. In his first year in office, he pushed for legislation that gave the mayor control of the public school system. With a broadened mandate, he instituted drastic reforms to cut expenses, shutter low enrollment schools and shore-up test scores.

While several initiatives were seen as effective, the changes were often considered controversial ones as well. According to Margit Wennmachers, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Mr. Fenty's willingness to tackle tough issues was seen as a posit ive.

“We admire someone with the courage and the stomach to take on the status quo, in particular on a topic as fundamental as the education system in this country,” she wrote in a company blog post on Wednesday.

After leaving his government post in 2011, Mr. Fenty, a graduate of Howard University Law School, joined Klores Perry Mitchell as a special counsel. He also became an adviser to education technology companies, such as Rosetta Stone, and recently became an angel investor.

As a special adviser for Andreessen Horowitz, he will spend more time on the West coast and will help the team analyze investment ideas and advise portfolio companies on business strategy and regulatory issues.

“I've been involved with several start-ups near D.C.,” Mr. Fenty said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “Through all of that, I caught the bug.”

For Andressen Horowitz, the appointment also signals increased interest in start-ups that are disrupting the education industry. So far, it has one investment in the space, Kno, a digital textbook software company. Ms. Wennmachers said the firm is currently actively looking for more.