Founded by Don Valentine in 1972, Sequoia was an early investor in many top tech names, including Alphabet's Google and YouTube, Apple, and Cisco, and has established itself as one of the world's top venture capital firms. Leone took over the reins from Valentine in 1996 alongside venture capitalist Michael Moritz. Moritz stepped back from the management role in 2012 due to health reasons, and Leone became the firm's sole leader.