Heather Harde
Heather Harde is a technology-media executive and investor, formerly CEO of TechCrunchTechCrunchTechCrunch is an American technology news outlet founded in 2005 by Michael Arrington and Keith Teare and headquartered in San Francisco; it mainly covers technology companies, startups, and venture capital, and hosts events such as TechCrunch Disrupt. Its ownership passed successively through AOL, Verizon, and Yahoo, and in 2025 Regent announced its acquisition.Open the full entry and a co-founder of Arrington CapitalArrington CapitalArrington Capital is a firm that invests in digital assets and Web3 and manages funds including Arrington XRP Capital Fund; since 2025, through that fund, it has served as sponsor of the special purpose acquisition company Armada Acquisition Corp. II, driving its merger with the XRP treasury company Evernorth.Open the full entry. She became a strategic adviser to the investment firm in 2023.
Contents8 sections
Key facts
1991–1996Education and early career
Harde graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1991 and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1996. Her early career included investment banking at Brown Brothers Harriman before she moved into media.[1]
1990s–2007Media operations and acquisitions
She worked at organizations including Showtime Networks and News America Marketing, spent roughly a decade within News Corp, and became senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Fox Interactive Media.[1]
2007–2011Running TechCrunch
Michael ArringtonMichael ArringtonMichael Arrington is an American entrepreneur and investor who founded the technology publication TechCrunch in 2005, created Crunchbase in 2007, sold TechCrunch to AOL in 2010, and went on to found CrunchFund and the crypto-asset investment firm Arrington Capital.Open the full entry announced Harde’s appointment as TechCrunch CEO in March 2007. She helped develop businesses including CrunchbaseCrunchbaseCrunchbase is a private-company data and intelligence platform headquartered in San Francisco. It launched in 2007 as TechCrunch’s startup database, and its own company profile lists Michael Arrington as founder. It passed to AOL with TechCrunch in 2010 and was spun out of AOL/Verizon in 2015 with backing from Emergence Capital, with Jager McConnell as CEO; it has since raised more than $100 million and launched Pro, Enterprise, API and Crunchbase News products. Since 2025 it has focused on using AI to forecast private companies’ funding, growth and exits, delivering its data through MCP, APIs and third-party AI platforms.Open the full entry, The Crunchies and Disrupt, continued after AOLAOLAOL is an American internet brand offering a news portal, email, and membership services. Its history dates to an online-services company founded in 1985.Open the full entry’s 2010 acquisition, and left in December 2011.[1]
From 2012: Technology-sector civic work
After TechCrunch, Harde served as vice chair of San Francisco technology organization sf.citi and as a Mount Holyoke College trustee, working on connections between the technology sector and civic issues.[1]
2017–2019Co-founding a crypto investment firm
In November 2017, Arrington announced Arrington XRP Capital with Harde and Geoffrey AroneGeoffrey AroneGeoffrey Arone is a technology entrepreneur and investor, a co-founder of Arrington Capital and former chief scientist at Experian, with work spanning identity protection, cybersecurity and blockchain.Open the full entry. Following its 2019 combination with ByteSize CapitalByteSize CapitalByteSize Capital was a private crypto fund and research firm founded by Ninor and Ninos Mansor. It combined with Arrington XRP Capital in 2019, with both founders joining the partnership.Open the full entry, Ninor and Ninos MansorNinos MansorNinos Mansor is a crypto investor who co-founded ByteSize Capital with Ninor Mansor, was an Arrington Capital partner from 2019 to 2022, and appeared as an Edessa Capital general partner in 2023.Open the full entry joined the partnership alongside her.[2][3]
August 2023Strategic-adviser transition
Arrington Capital announced Harde’s move from full-time partner to strategic adviser alongside Taryn NaiduTaryn NaiduTaryn Naidu is an executive and investment-firm partner whose career includes Pool.com, Rightside and Rigetti Computing. He joined Arrington Capital as partner and chief operating officer in 2023.Open the full entry’s appointment as partner and COO, continuing to identify her as a co-founder.[4]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Related people and organizations include Michael Arrington, Geoffrey Arone, TechCrunch, Arrington Capital and ByteSize Capital. Firm website: https://www.arringtoncapital.com/ (opens in a new window).[4]