Burnes, or “Rick” as he is commonly called, has stuck close to the Boston area for much of his life. He grew up in Framingham, Mass. He moved from Framingham to Cambridge for college. After Harvard, Burnes got his MBA from Boston University. In 1970, he co-founded Charles River Ventures, a successful venture capitalist firm. At Charles River Ventures, Mr. Burnes’ investments have focused mainly in the fields of communications and information services. He has played a significant role in noteworthy investments such as: Cascade Communications, Chipcom Corporation, Epoch Systems, Abacus Direct, Summa Four, Concord Communications, Prominet, Aptis and Sonus Networks. He serves as Chairman for the Boston Museum of Science and the Entrepreneur’s Foundation of New England, as well as Vice Chairman of Sea Education Association, and Director of The Boston Foundation. He is married to Nonnie S. Burnes, a judge in the Massachusetts Superior Court, and has three children.