Haun Ventures hires private equity veteran Suzanne Kim: WSJ

Venture capital firm Haun Ventures, known for its crypto focus, has hired Suzanne Kim to handle investor relations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the company.

Kim joins Haun as a partner. She was most recently a managing director at Hellman & Friedman, and was previously a vice president at TPG Capital. 

Kim expects to help the firm's limited partners understand its thinking about regulations, investment opportunities, current portfolio and crypto technology, the Wall Street Journal said.

"This past year has really been a bloodbath for the industry," Kim told the WSJ. "It is so important to help the [limited partners] decipher between all the headlines that they’re seeing—it's just a constant barrage—and really help decipher what that means for the industry, what it means on the regulatory side."

She said the firm doesn't have immediate plans to fundraise. 

Haun Venture's crypto focus

Haun Ventures previously raised $1.5 billion for two venture-focused crypto funds. The firm, founded by former Andreessen Horowitz GP Katie Haun, had only deployed about 40% of the cash by August of this year.

Haun's Chief Marketing Officer Rachael Horwitz told the WSJ that its investors haven't expressed concern about the crypto market. She pointed to Kim's private-equity background and said it was sign that traditional finance is increasingly considering crypto as an emerging and legitimate asset class. 

Haun Ventures has about 12 people and plans to remain small, Horwitz told the WSJ.