Index Ventures appoints new board member

Index Ventures, a leading European VC, has appointed Barry Appleman, CTO of America online to the Index Ventures Technology & Scientific Advisory Board. The board, which comprises a number of technologists and scientists, already includes Mike Volpi of Cisco Systems and Thomas Kurian of Oracle.

Index Ventures began investing in 1992. Since then the group has committed more than $500m in a number of technology and biotechnology companies in Western Europe including UK company Virata, Numerical Technologies, and Digiquant.

A typical deal for the firm is the E34m private placement deal Index completed in March for Cellzome, a German biopharmaceutical company.

The form’s strategic corporate investors, who also work on the business development activities of Index and its portfolio companies include a number of institutional investors including UBS, LGT Capital Partners, and Standard Life Investments, as well as endowment and pension funds.

To date the company has invested in 34 companies, a third of which have already completed listings on the public markets or been acquired.