Sonya Brown leaves Summit for Norwest

Sonya Brown has joined Norwest Venture Partners, according to an email sent out earlier today. She will be a partner in the firm's Palo Alto office, with a focus on growth equity investments.

Brown previously spent nearly nine years in Boston with Summit Partners, most recently as a principal responsible for the firm's investments in North American consumer and Internet companies. Her board seats included Aramsco, Central Security Group, Physicians Formula Holdings (FACE), Snap Fitness and Sparta Systems.

Brown's move comes just weeks after Mood Rowghani stepped down as a vice president with Summit, in order to join Kleiner Perkins. The firm currently is raising both a private equity and a venture capital fund, and finding the latter process much smoother than the former.

Norwest is investing out of a $1.2 billion fund closed in 2009.