Mr. Vardell has served as a Managing Director of Northgate since its inception. Mr. Vardell has been involved in private equity investments as a limited partner in several top-tier funds, as a direct investor, and as an advisory board member. Prior to co-founding Northgate, Mr. Vardell played eight years in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, and the San Francisco Forty-Niners.
Mr. Vardell holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. While at Stanford University, he was honored as the GTE Academic All-American of the Year, which is an award to the top scholar-athlete in the nation. He was a first-round pick (ninth overall) of the Cleveland Browns in 1992 and holds the all-time best marks for rushing and scoring at Stanford. He currently endows a scholarship at Stanford for character, athletic ability, and academic excellence.
Mr. Vardell is a board observer on several venture-backed technology companies and is a member of the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, which ranks the nation’s top 25 college football teams for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).
