Jerome Contro

Jerome Contro COO of Crosslink Capital, Dies at 55 Jerome Stephen Contro died on Thursday, January 12, 2012 in Sausalito, CA. Mr. Contro was the Chief Operating Officer and a General Partner of San Francisco based Crosslink Capital. The cause of death was a result of complications related to kidney cancer. He was with his wife, Grace Contro. The eldest son of Dr. Stephen Contro and Mary Ann Pasin, Jerome Stephen Contro was born in Chicago, IL on September 9, 1956. Mr. Contro graduated from Galesburg Senior High School. He attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and was awarded a B.A. in Economics in 1978. He subsequently attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI and earned a Masters of Business Administration in 1980. Mr. Contro was a Chartered Financial Analyst. In 1982 Mr. Contro began working at John Nuveen & Co, where, after sixteen years, he achieved the position of Vice President of Business Development. He married Grace Stewart Dayton in 1984. They had two daughters, Marina Stewart in 1987 and Anna Gabriella in 1989. In 1999, he moved to Boulder, Colorado to join Tango, a private investment firm. In 2008 he joined Crosslink Capital in San Francisco, a venture capital and growth equity firm, as Chief Operating Officer and General Partner. He sat on the Boards of Directors of many companies including RS Investments, Janus Funds, Service Magic, Ancestry.com, Global Analytics and Prosper. Mr. Contro was an avid skier and cyclist and, most importantly, a dedicated husband and father. He loved to travel the world and on any given weekend could be found driving his favorite car around Northern California or flying off to see one of his many close friends or a daughter in college. He was a man in constant forward motion, fond of all things Italian, and achieved blindingly fast response times on his Blackberry. He was a passionate investor and a mentor to many young entrepreneurs and financial professionals. He was unique in his many friendships developed and nurtured over the years by his thoughtful optimism, gregariousness, and personal charm. He is survived by his wife Grace Dayton Contro of Sausalito, CA. and his daughters Marina Stewart Contro of New York, NY and Anna Gabriella Contro of Ann Arbor, MI.; as well as his father, Dr. Stephen Contro of Bassano Del Grappa, Italy, his siblings, Antonia Contro of Chicago, IL, Stephanie Farruggia of River Forest, IL and Greg Contro of Lake Bluff, IL. He will be deeply missed by family, friends, and colleagues across the world. Funeral services for Mr. Contro will be held on January 19, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Luke's Church in River Forest, IL followed immediately by an internment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco, date to be announced. Also, a memorial service will be held in Boulder, CO, place and date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jerome Contro's memory can be to UCSF Foundation, Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0338 to further the Research in Advanced Oncology by Dr. Charles J. Ryan of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center or to a charity of your choice. Funeral info: 708-383-3191.