Tom Stemberg, the founder and former CEO of office retail chain Staples, joined Highland Capital Partners as a venture partner Tuesday.

Mr. Stemberg founded Staples in 1986, took the company public four years later, and over the next 12 years grew profits of more than $250 million and market capitalization to over $10 billion.

Lexington, Massachusetts-based Highland Capital has over $1.8 billion in capital under management in six funds. The firm specializes in information technology, communications, and healthcare. It invests across all rounds of a startup’s development.

Mr. Stemberg joins Jean-Luc Abaziou, formerly an executive at Ericsson, and Bob Davis, who served as CEO at Terra Lycos, as the firm’s third Venture Partner.

As venture funding rebounds from the dot-com bust, venture firms increasingly look towards seasoned brick-and-mortar executives to help make their portfolio companies profitable. Adams Capital Management, for example, announced Tuesday that it would take on Joe Raffa, former CEO of NuCore, a semiconductor design company.

There’s no doubt that Mr. Stemberg knows retail. Besides Staples, he has invested in PetSmart and a dry cleaning chain called Zoots.

Mr. Stemberg raised $35 million for Staples in the late 1980s from Bain Capital Fund, Citicorp Investment, and Bessemer Partners. He now owns over 2.3 million of Staples shares, which closed down $0.23 at $31.26.

Phil Francis, CEO of PetSmart said in a release, that Mr. Stemberg has “innate entrepreneurial instincts.”