Insight Venture appoints IR senior advisor

 Insight Venture Partners has appointed Donna Smolens as a senior advisor as the firm seeks to build out its investor relations function.

Smolens joins the firm from Portfolio Advisors where she was a managing director and co-head of its North American research and due diligence team, Insight said.

Smolens will work with Insight managing director Cian Cotter, who is responsible for the firm’s capital markets and capital formation activities in connection with its investor relations activities.

She has served on the advisory boards of 13 private equity and venture capital funds during her 11 years at Portfolio Advisors, which advises on and manages private equity funds, as well as investment committees for several of its funds.

Prior to her work at Portfolio Advisors, Smolens managed investor relations for Technology Crossover Ventures where she was a general partner at the firm and previously conducted due diligence on private equity fundraising activities at DLJ Securities’ private fund group as a senior vice president.

Smolens’ hire comes one month after the firm closed its $3.2 billion Insight Venture Partners IX fund, which makes control buyout and growth equity investments, and its Insight Venture Partners Growth-Buyout Co-investment Fund at $1.4 billion.