Jim Breyer
Born
James W. Breyer

(1961-07-26) July 26, 1961
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationStanford University (BS)
Harvard University (MBA)
OccupationVenture capitalist/Investor
Known forFounder of Breyer Capital
Spouses
  • Susan Z. Breyer (divorced)
  • Angela Chao
Children3
Websitewww.breyercapital.com/jim-breyer

James W. Breyer (born July 26, 1961)[1] is an American venture capitalist, founder and chief executive officer of Breyer Capital, an investment and venture philanthropy firm, and a former managing[2] partner at Accel Partners, a venture capital firm. Breyer has invested in over 40 companies[3] that have gone public or completed a merger,[4] with some of these investments, including Facebook,[5] earning over 100 times cost and many others over 25 times cost.[6] On the Forbes 2021 list of the 400 richest Americans, he was ranked #389, with a net worth of US$2.9 billion.[7]

Early life and education

Breyer was born in 1961 in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Hungarian immigrants.[8][9] His father, John P. Breyer, was an engineer[9] and executive at International Data Group;[10] his mother Eva was an executive at Honeywell.[8] In 1983, Breyer received a B.S. with Distinction in Interdisciplinary Studies from Stanford University.[8][11] He spent his junior year studying in Florence, Italy, and is active in what is now Stanford's Breyer Center for Overseas Studies in Florence.[11] He was drawn to Silicon Valley's technology industry and during college he worked part-time for both Hewlett-Packard and Apple Inc.[12] After college, he accepted a job as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in New York for two years.[13] In 1987, he earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University where he was named a Baker Scholar graduating in the top 5% of his class.[14]

Background

Accel Partners and Breyer Capital

In 1987, he accepted a job with the venture capital firm Accel Partners in San Francisco and was mentored by founders Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz.[8] In 1990, he was named a partner and in 1995, he became a managing partner.[11]

Accel Partners was Facebook's biggest shareholder after Mark Zuckerberg, owning an 11% stake at the time of the company's IPO.[15] In 2005, Breyer led Accel Partners' $12.7 million deposit at a $98 million valuation in the then ten-employee startup Facebook.[13] In 2000, Breyer also established Accel-KKR, a joint venture between Accel Partners and the private equity firm KKR.[16] Breyer also led the 2004 management buyout of BBN Technologies from Verizon.[17]

Breyer has led several Series A investments, including Etsy,[18] Clinkle[19] and Circle Internet Financial.[20] He has also led investments in Legendary Pictures[13] and Spotify.[21] Forbes said of Breyer, "He glides easily within and between circles: Silicon Valley, China, Europe, and Hollywood."[13]

In 2006, Breyer founded Breyer Capital, a global equity investor focused on providing capital to help catalyze high impact social and for-profit entrepreneurs.[13] The fund focuses on emerging markets such as China, South East Asia, and India.[22] Breyer continues to manage the fund as CEO. Breyer Capital has participated in a number of investments including Harvard's Experiment Fund,[23] Brightcove,[24] Marvel Entertainment[25] and Legendary Pictures.[26]

In 2014, Breyer joined the Wickr board of directors, pledging $30 million in funding. Wickr is a messaging app that seeks to provide encrypted and self-destructing messages for users which pledges a strict commitment to user privacy.[27][28][29]

In July 2016, Breyer also joined the board of the alternative investment firm The Blackstone Group, the largest such firm in the world according to a 2013 New York Times piece.[30][31][32]

In 2020, Breyer established a second office for Breyer Capital in Austin, Texas.[33][34] Since establishing its Austin office, Breyer Capital has backed Sana Benefits, Bestow, ClosedLoop.ai, DISCO, data.world, ZenBusiness, LitLingo, Homeward and OJO Labs.[35]

Investment in China

In 2005, Breyer helped establish a joint venture between Accel Partners and China-based IDG Capital Partners, a pioneering Chinese investment firm behind Baidu and Tencent.[36] Breyer and Patrick Joseph McGovern, the Founder and CEO of IDG, have served as co-leads on the Accel-IDG joint venture's strategic investment committee since its inception in 2005.[37] Breyer is active in the Chinese investment community and continues to invest in the country through Breyer Capital and partnerships with IDG.[38] Additionally, he is a member of the advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, Beijing.[39]

In June 2014, IDG Capital announced the closing of IDG China Venture Capital Fund IV, a $586 million tech venture capital fund focused on making early-stage technology, media and telecom (TMT) investments in China. IDG also announced the participation of Breyer Capital and stated Jim will play a leading strategic advisory role in the new fund.[40][41]

In June 2016, the Wall Street Journal published a piece on what is one of the largest ever China-focused venture capital funds raised, $1 billion in capital commitments for the IDG Capital Fund III of Breyer and IDG Capital.[42]

Professional associations and memberships

In February 2013, Breyer was elected a fellow of the Harvard Corporation, Harvard University's senior governing board.[11] He also serves on the Board of the Dean's Advisors of the Harvard Business School and is a founding member of the Harvard University Global Advisory Council.[11] In December 2005, Breyer was appointed an honorary professor at the Yuelu Academy, Hunan University, China.[43] Jim is the past Chairman and remains a Board Member of the Tsinghua University Advisory Board for the School of Economics and Management. He also is a member of the University of Texas President’s Innovation Board.[44]

He is a member of various World Economic Forum committees,[45] and a member of the Lead Director Network, an organization of directors dedicated to improving the performance of their corporations and earning the trust of their shareholders through more effective board leadership.[46] Additionally, Breyer serves as the Chairman of the Stanford University Engineering Venture Fund and is on the board of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.[47][48] In 2019, Breyer helped found the Stanford HAI program which focuses on the future of AI.[49]

Breyer previously served on the boards of Etsy,[18] Legendary Entertainment,[50] Circle Financial,[51] and 21st Century Fox where he was Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee.[52] He is also a minority owner of the Boston Celtics.[53]

In the past, Breyer has served on a number of public and private boards, including: Facebook from April, 2005 to June, 2013 where he was a Chairman of the Compensation Committee;[54] Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., as the lead/presiding independent director from 2001 until he resigned in June 2013;[55][56] Marvel Entertainment as founding Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee from 2006 until their acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2009;[57][58] News Corporation from 2011 to 2013;[59] Dell Inc., where he was the founding Chairman of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee from 2009 until 2013;[60][61] Brightcove, an online video platform which went public in 2012;[62] and Model N as a founding investor and board member. Breyer is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Pacific Community Ventures, and TechNet.[11][47] Jim is a Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where his wife, Angela Chao, is also a Member of the Chairman's Council, and a Trustee of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.[63][64]

Breyer has previously held a number of other leadership positions, including: Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA); President of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists; Member of the Board of the Associates of the Harvard Business School; Chairman of the Harvard Business School California Research Center; and Chairman of the Silicon Valley region committee for Stanford University's Campaign for Undergraduate Education.[11][47][65]

Jim Breyer's economic commentary and analysis regarding international market movements and investment trends have been cited in various financial publications, including Fortune, the New York Times and Business Insider.[66][67][68][69]

Awards and achievements

In August 2010, Fortune named Breyer one of the 10 smartest people in technology, and the smartest investor in technology. For three consecutive years, from 2011 to 2013, Forbes has ranked Jim Breyer number one on the Forbes Midas List of Tech's Top Investors.[70][71][72] Breyer received the Silicon Valley Forum's Visionary Award in 2012.[73] He was also named to the Vanity Fair New Establishment Hall of Fame in 2012.[74] In 2014, Breyer was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Venture Capital Journal. In 2014, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Justice Anthony Kennedy during the International Achievement Summit in San Francisco.[75][76]

Politics

In April 2013, a lobbying group called FWD.us (aimed at lobbying for immigration reform and improvements to education) was launched, with Jim Breyer listed as one of the founders.[77]

Personal life

Breyer is married to the CEO of Foremost Group, philanthropist Angela Chao, the youngest sister of Elaine Chao and the widow of Bruce Wasserstein.[78][79][80] Elaine Chao, the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, making Breyer and McConnell brothers-in-law.[81]

Breyer was previously married to his college sweetheart and impressionist artist Susan Zaroff, with whom he had three children, Emily, Daniel, and Theodore (Ted).[7][82] They divorced in 2004.[83] Daniel and Ted are partners at Breyer Capital and co-founders of Breyer Labs, a bootstrapped cryptocurrency fund.[84]

References

  1. ↑ "Billionaires: James W. Breyer". Wealth-X. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  2. ↑ "Exclusive: Jim Breyer reducing role at Accel Partners". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  3. ↑ Franck, Thomas (2017-09-22). "Billionaire investor Jim Breyer on why big technology growth stocks will keep surging". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  4. ↑ "Smartest investor: Jim Breyer". CNNMoney. July 9, 2010. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010.
  5. ↑ Ari Levy (January 18, 2012). "Accel Facebook Bet Poised to Become Biggest Venture Profit: Tech". Bloomberg.
  6. ↑ "Brightcove PLAY 2012 to Feature Special Keynote Conversation with Jim Breyer, Erick Schonfeld & Jeremy Allaire". Reuters. May 22, 2012. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "The Richest People In America (2021 ranking): #389 Jim Breyer". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Harvard Business School: "Done Deals: Venture Capitalists Tell Their Story: Featured HBS Alum Breyer" Excerpted from the book Done Deals, edited by Udayan Gupta December 4, 2000
  9. 1 2 Thompson, Roger (March 2008). "One-on-One with Jim Breyer". Harvard School of Business Alumni Bulletin.
  10. ↑ Businessweek: "John P. Breyer – Chairman, IDG Capital Partners retrieved October 24, 2013
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Breyer elected to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. February 4, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Breyer elected to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Nicole Perlroth (April 6, 2011). "The Comeback Kid". Forbes.
  14. ↑ San Francisco business Times: "Accel's Jim Breyer joins Harvard Corp" by Patrick Hoge February 4, 2013
  15. ↑ David Goldman (February 2, 2012). "Zuckerberg's Facebook stake is worth at least $16 billion". CNNMoney.
  16. ↑ George Anders and Steven Lipin (February 23, 2000). "KKR, Accel Team Up To Pursue Web Deals". The Wall Street Journal.
  17. ↑ "Accel's Jim Breyer scores twice within 24 hours: BBN and Marvel". Venture Beat. September 1, 2009.
  18. 1 2 Erick Schonfeld (January 30, 2008). "Etsy Raises $27 Million; Accel's Jim Breyer Joins Board". TechCrunch.
  19. ↑ "Conference proceedings literature added to ISI's chemistry citation index". Applied Catalysis A: General. 107 (1): N4–N5. December 1993. doi:10.1016/0926-860x(93)85126-a. ISSN 0926-860X.
  20. ↑ Catherine Shu (October 31, 2013). "Circle Raises $9M Series A From Accel And General Catalyst To Make Bitcoins Mainstream". TechCrunch.
  21. ↑ "Midas List 2013: The Billionaires". Forbes. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Jim Breyer (via Accel Partners)". CNBC. May 22, 2012.
  23. ↑ Lora Kolodny (March 26, 2013). "Kleiner Perkins Backs University Accelerator At USC". Dow Jones.
  24. ↑ Connie Loizos (June 26, 2012). "Jim Breyer Goes Public with Breyer Capital: Updated". peHUB Reuters.
  25. ↑ "Jim Breyer Scores Big With Disney's Marvel Acquisition". peHUB Reuters. August 31, 2009.
  26. ↑ Alex Ben Block (April 4, 2012). "Legendary Closes $275 Million Financing Deal". The Hollywood Reporter.
  27. ↑ "Self-destructing messaging app Wickr scores $30M led by Jim Breyer". Venture Beat. Jun 26, 2014.
  28. ↑ Drake, Sarah (Jun 26, 2014). "Private mobile messaging platform Wickr nabs $30M for financial, gaming expansion". Silicon Valley Business Journal.
  29. ↑ Smith IV, Jack (Jun 27, 2014). "Freshly Minted: Mysterious Encryption Startup Wickr Nabs $30B and Jim Breyer Endorsement". Beta Beat.
  30. ↑ Banerjee, Devin (14 July 2016). "Blackstone Adds Venture Capitalist Breyer to Board of Directors". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  31. ↑ Schaefer, Steve (14 July 2016). "Blackstone Adds Billionaire Tech Investor Jim Breyer To Board". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  32. ↑ Alden, William (18 April 2013). "Public Offering Values SeaWorld at $2.5 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  33. ↑ "Facebook investor Jim Breyer picks Austin as Breyer Capital's second home". TechCrunch. 2020-09-14.
  34. ↑ "Breyer Capital - Contact". Breyer Capital. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  35. ↑ "LitLingo Closes on $7.5M Series A Funding With Backing From DISCO Investors". Law.com. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  36. ↑ Sarah Lacy (April 1, 2011). "Accel and IDG Double Down on China Partnership, Raise $1.3B in Seven Weeks". TechCrunch.
  37. ↑ Matt Marshall (July 19, 2005). "Silicon Valley's Accel Partners takes on China". San Jose Mercury News.
  38. ↑ Evelyn M. Rusli (April 1, 2011). "Accel Raises $1.3 Billion in Funds for China". The New York Times.
  39. ↑ "Advisory Board". Tsinghua University. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  40. ↑ Iris Dorbian (June 3, 2014). "IDG Capital Partners closes $586 mln for fourth fund". PeHUB.
  41. ↑ Staff Writer (June 3, 2014). "IDG Capital Seeks $550M For New Fund". China Money Network.
  42. ↑ Winkler, Rolfe (12 July 2016). "Jim Breyer and IDG Raise $1 Billion China Fund". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  43. ↑ Nick Summers (February 5, 2013). "Harvard Flunks Investing, Taps Accel's Jim Breyer". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013.
  44. ↑ "Silicon Valley veteran Jim Breyer weighs in on China". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  45. ↑ "Jim Breyer". World Economic Forum. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Lead Director Network". Tapestry Networks. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  47. 1 2 3 "Pillars of Stanford Engineering". Stanford University. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Advisory Board". Stanford University. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Stanford's New Institute Will Unite Humanities and Computer Science to Study, Guide and Develop Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence". Stanford HAI. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  50. ↑ Nikki Finke (April 6, 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: Dick Cook & Jim Breyer Join Thomas Tull's Legendary Pictures Board". Deadline Hollywood.
  51. ↑ "Jeremy Allaire Launches Circle Internet Financial with $9 Million Series A from Jim Breyer, Accel Partners & General Catalyst Partners". Circle.com. October 30, 2013.
  52. ↑ "Board of Directors". 21st Century Fox. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  53. ↑ Lattman, Peter (May 31, 2008). "Boston Celtics Investor List, Wall Street Journal". The Wall Street Journal.
  54. ↑ Mike Isaac (April 26, 2013). "Accel Partners' Jim Breyer to Leave Facebook Board in June". All Things Digital.
  55. ↑ "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc". SEC.gov. June 5, 2009.
  56. ↑ Julie Bort (April 30, 2013). "Venture Capitalist Jim Breyer Is Leaving Dell, Facebook, Walmart". Business Insider.
  57. ↑ "Marvel Enterprises (MVL)". WikiInvest. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  58. ↑ "Disney Completes Marvel Acquisition". Marvel. Jan 12, 2010.
  59. ↑ Evelyn M. Rusli (September 2, 2011). "Accel's Breyer to Join News Corp. Board, as 2 Depart". The New York Times.
  60. ↑ Eric Eldon (April 14, 2009). "Accel Partner's Jim Breyer joins Dell board, brings internet connections". Venture Beat.
  61. ↑ Agustino Fontevecchia (April 29, 2013). "Accel Partners' Jim Breyer Leaving Dell's Board After Stepping Down At Facebook And Walmart". Forbes.
  62. ↑ Evelyn M. Rusli (February 17, 2012). "Brightcove Soars on Debut, as I.P.O. Outlook Brightens". The New York Times.
  63. ↑ "New Trustees James W. Breyer, Howard S. Marks, Beatrice Stern, and Caroline Diamond Harrison Elected at Metropolitan Museum". Metropolitan Museum of Art. November 12, 2014.
  64. ↑ "New Trustees James W. Breyer, Howard S. Marks, Beatrice Stern, and Caroline Diamond Harrison Elected at Metropolitan Museum | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  65. ↑ "Jim Breyer of Accel Partners Elected Chairman Of National Venture Capital Association". PR Newswire. May 13, 2004.
  66. ↑ "The Best Investment of the Next Decade". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  67. ↑ Benner, Katie (2016-02-21). "Caution Rebuffed, Unicorns and Other Start-Ups Fixate on Rainbows". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  68. ↑ "'BLOOD IN THE WATER' — 90% of the billion-dollar unicorn startups are in trouble". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  69. ↑ "The bubble will burst, says VC Jim Breyer". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  70. ↑ "#1 Jim Breyer". Forbes. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  71. ↑ "#1 Jim Breyer". Forbes. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  72. ↑ "The Top Ten In Venture Capital Today – Midas List". Forbes. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  73. ↑ Kym McNicholas (June 19, 2012). "Honored Visionaries: Elon Musk, Jim Breyer, Salman Khan, and David Kirkpatrick". Pando Daily.
  74. ↑ Kym McNicholas (November 2013). "The New Establishment: Hall of Fame". Vanity Fair.
  75. ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  76. ↑ "2014 Summit Highlights Photo: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy presents Golden Plate Award to technology investor James Breyer". American Academy of Achievement.
  77. ↑ "Our supporters". FWD.us. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  78. ↑ "Chao family donates two kindergartens|People|chinadaily.com.cn". usa.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  79. ↑ "NCTU President, Dr. Mau-Chung Frank Chang, presented the Honorary Doctorate Degree to Dr. Patrick Soon‐Shiong (10, 2015)". newnctu.it.nctu.edu.tw. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  80. ↑ Tindera, Michela. "A $59 Million Will Sheds Light On Shipping Fortune Connected To Elaine Chao And Mitch McConnell". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  81. ↑ Milbank (August 2, 2019). "McConnell's new posture toward Moscow". Washington Post. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  82. ↑ Susan Breyer website Archived 2018-02-28 at the Wayback Machine retrieved October 24, 2013
  83. ↑ Forbes: "The Comeback Kid" by Nicole Perlroth April 6, 2011
  84. ↑ "Breyer Capital - About". Breyer Capital. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
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