Bill Fields is a Portfolio Manager and Head of the North Carolina market for Venture Debt at Bridge Bank. In this role he provides financial solutions, strategies and insights to venture backed early-stage companies in enterprise software and cybersecurity. Prior to Bridge, he worked at IDEA Fund Partners as a Venture Fellow and Red Cedar Ventures as a Venture Consultant. As an Angel Investor he invests in cybersecurity companies through several co-invest funds.

 

Prior to Venture Capital, he was Vice President at JP Morgan working in their Commercial Banking Middle Market Banking Group where he advised companies with $20-$500MM in revenue on debt and credit products for working capital, acquisition financing, and recapitalizations. In this role he focused on beverage distribution, the defense industry, and the built environment. He also previously held positions in JP Morgan’s Private Bank and on their Risk and Compliance team.

 

Bill began his career in the White House National Economic Council and U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee as a policy aide and joined the United States Navy as a Lieutenant. While in the Navy he worked in signals intelligence and cybersecurity as an Information Warfare Officer at the National Security Agency. He deployed to Afghanistan and received the Joint Service Achievement Medal for his support to 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division and Special Operations Forces.

 

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Defense and Business and as a mentor at Mach37 accelerator. Bill is passionate about supporting the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem on the east coast and co-organizes the Techstars Raleigh-Durham Startup Week.

 

Bill received his Masters in Business Administration from Columbia Business School. He also received a Masters in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.