Thomas Perkins (businessman)
| Thomas Perkins | |
|---|---|
Perkins speaking at TechCrunch in San Francisco in 2013
|
|
| Born |
Thomas James Perkins January 7, 1932 White Plains, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 7, 2016 (aged 84) Marin County, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
MIT (BS) Harvard University (MBA) |
| Occupation | Venture Capitalist |
| Known for | Co Founder of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers |
| Spouse(s) |
Gerd Thune-Ellefsen (m. ?–1994) Danielle Steel (1998–2002; divorced) |
Gerd Thune-Ellefsen (m. ?–1994)
Thomas James Perkins (January 7, 1932 – June 7, 2016) was an American businessman, capitalist and was one of the founders of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Perkins received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1953. He earned an MBA from Harvard University in 1957. While attending MIT, Perkins joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. Perkins was mentored by Georges Doriot.
In 1963, he was invited by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard to become the administrative head of the research department at Hewlett-Packard. He was the first general manager of HP's computer divisions, credited with helping shepherd HP's entry into the minicomputer business. During the 1960s, he also started University Laboratories, which was later merged into Spectra-Physics.
In 1973, with Eugene Kleiner, he founded Kleiner Perkins, one of the first Sand Hill Road venture capital firms. Later, Frank Caufield and Brook Byers joined the firm, eventually becoming named partners. Perkins served as a director of Applied Materials, Compaq, Corning Glass, Genentech, Hewlett-Packard, and Philips Electronics. He served as the only chairman of Tandem Computers, from its founding in 1974 until its 1997 merger with Compaq. Perkins was also chairman of Genentech from 1976 until 1990 when it merged with Roche Holding Ltd.
...
Wikipedia