Our Team

The Rittenhouse Ventures investment team supports emerging-growth companies from funding to exit, bringing expertise in fundraising strategy, business operations, technical development, and sector domain knowledge.

OVER 50 YEARS
collective team investing experience

Deployed over
$180M EQUITY CAPITAL via institutional funds

Investments in
OVER 40 COMPANIES
in the past 20 years

Team

Click on each team member for more information

Saul Richter

Founder & Managing Partner

David Nevas

General Partner

Sushma Rajagopalan

Partner

Bruce Luehrs

General Partner (Funds I & II)

Steve Holstad

Chief Financial Officer

Justin Hanley

Analyst

Saul Richter

Saul is the Founder of Rittenhouse Ventures and has been active within the technology community for thirty years as a venture capitalist, start-up entrepreneur, and technologist.

Saul has a strong background in software development and systems administration, and has been investing in the healthcare technology space for over twenty years.

Saul has a passion for emerging technologies, and enjoys supporting entrepreneurs throughout a company’s growth process.

Select Portfolio Involvement

Piano
Energage
Cecelia Health
GSI Health
Take the Interview
Halfpenny Technologies
Maverick Network Solutions
Click Equations
Concerro

Select Prior Experience

Himalaya Capital
Lucent Technologies’ New Ventures Group
Zapper Technologies

Education

MBA – Columbia Business School, Columbia University
BA, Economics – Columbia University

David Nevas

David is a General Partner of Rittenhouse Ventures. He was formerly a Partner at Edison Partners for more than a decade prior to joining Rittenhouse Ventures in 2023.

David has over 20 years of investing, operating, and advisory experience with early and growth-stage companies. He was involved with over 20 financings during his time at Edison and held numerous portfolio company board seats, and chaired the Edison Director Network, an organization of 200+ C- level executives who engaged in operational roles or as independent directors within the Edison Partners portfolio. Following his tenture at Edison Partners, David served as a Managing Director at Razorhorse Capital, a buy-side strategic advisory firm serving global tech-focused PE funds and their portfolio companies. While there David advised on more than a dozen buyout and growth financings across a broad array of B2B software companies.

Select Prior Investments

PandoLogic (acquired by Veritone, NASDAQ: VERI)
TripleLift (acquired by Vista Equity)
ItemMaster (acquired by Syndigo)
Pixability
Terminus
Jornaya (acquired by Verisk)
Netprospex (acquired by D&B)
Uptivity (acquired by InContact)

Select Prior Experience

Edison Partners
Razorhorse Capital
AC Lordi
PwC

Education

MBA – Stern School of Business, NYU
BS – Lehigh University

Sushma Rajagopalan

Sushma is a Partner of Rittenhouse Ventures. She was formerly CEO of ITC Infotech prior to joining Rittenhouse Ventures in 2020.

Sushma has more than 25 years of global C-level experience at technology companies including iGate (based in Pittsburgh), LiquidHub (based in Philadelphia), and most recently as CEO of ITC Infotech, a $300M revenue company and a wholly owned subsidiary of a $10B conglomerate, ITC (based in India).

Sushma works across all aspects of Rittenhouse, with a primary focus on identifying and evaluating potential new investment opportunities, building and maintaining relationships with regional early-stage investors, and working closely with portfolio companies on their growth strategies and operational execution. She also works closely with portfolio companies on implementing sales and marketing strategies, enhancing the development of alliances and partnerships and crafting and implementing acquisition strategies.

Sushma currently serves on the board of directors of both Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA and the WISH Foundation USA, a non-profit that aims to build an equitable healthcare system. Sushma is an active mentor to young entrepreneurs and leaders through programs at PACT and Harvard iLabs.

Select Prior Experience

ITC Infotech
LiquidHub
L&T Infotech

Education

MBA – Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University
MA – Tata Institute

Bruce Luehrs

Bruce is the Co-Founder of Rittenhouse Ventures and is a General Partner in Rittenhouse Funds I and II. He was a General Partner of the Edison Venture Fund from 1998 to 2006, prior to managing Rittenhouse Ventures.

As a banker, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist, Bruce brings 30 years of experience in financing technology companies across the greater Philadelphia area. He has been an active member of regional investment community, as the past Chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group (now MAC Alliance) and as a member of professional organizations in venture capital and corporate growth.

Bruce’s extensive investment experience in software for healthcare, pharma, and financial services makes him an ideal strategic partner for entrepreneurs.

Select Portfolio Involvement

Vida Diagnostics
Kynectiv
Tabula Rasa Healthcare
Miria Systems
Core Solutions
Gain Capital
Virtual Edge
Fiberlink
Octagon Research
InnaPhase
Cadien

Select Prior Experience

Edison Venture Funds
Penn Valley Capital
PNC Equity Management
Fidelity Bank

Education

MBA – Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
BA, Economics – Duke University

Steve Holstad

Steve is the CFO for Rittenhouse Ventures, while serving as the Managing Director for Strattech Partners, LLC, based in Devon, PA, which was founded in 2000 as a business consulting and venture capital firm.

Over the past 15 years, Steve has been the acting CFO for a number of venture-backed firms in the Philadelphia region.

Steve has nearly 30 years of finance and operational experience across companies in commercial banking, energy, chemical, and venture-backed technology.

Select Prior Experience

Strattech Partners, LLC
City Line Motors, LLC
Atlantic Richfield (ARCO)
ARCO Chemical
Huntington Bancshares

Education

MBA – University of Michigan
BA, Economics – Duke University

Justin Hanley

Justin is an analyst for Rittenhouse Ventures.

With over 10 years of finance and operational experience, Justin has a passion for innovation and early-stage investing.

From 2011 to 2015, Justin served as an associate for the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group, a Philadelphia-based angel group who provides equity capital to seed and early-stage, technology-based, high-growth companies across the mid-Atlantic region.

Select Prior Experience

Mid-Atlantic Angel Group
SEI Investments

Education

BA, Management – West Chester University