Jim Breyer Biography

James W. "Jim" Breyer (b. 1962) is an American venture capitalist and partner of Accel Partners, Facebook's biggest shareholder after Mark Zuckerberg, and founder/CEO of Breyer Capital, a global diversified investment firm.

Early life

Breyer graduated from Stanford University with a BS. He started to work as a management consultant for McKinsey & Co., in New York. He later earned an MBA from Harvard University, where he was named a Baker Scholar.

Career

In 2005 Accel made a $12.7 million deposit at a $98 million valuation in the startup Facebook. Breyer was on the Board of Directors of Facebook from April, 2005 to June, 2013 where he was a Chairman of the Compensation Committee.
He also served on the board of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, as the Lead/Presiding Independent Director, and Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee, on the Board of Marvel Entertainment until their acquisition by Disney, where he was the founding Chairman of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee and on the board of Dell Inc..In December 2005, Breyer was appointed an honorary professor at the Yuelu Academy, Hunan University, China. Breyer is also the chief executive officer of Breyer Capital, a venture capital and investment firm.

Breyer is the former chairman of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a former president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists, and on the Board of the Associates of the Harvard Business School, Pacific Community Ventures, Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Technet, and a trustee of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and of The Menlo School. He is a minority owner of the Boston Celtics. Breyer is chairman of the Stanford Engineering Venture Fund, former chairman of the Harvard Business School California Research Center, and is the former chairman of the Silicon Valley region committee for Stanford University's Campaign for Undergraduate Education. He is also a member of various World Economic Forum committees, and a member of the Lead Director Network.

In April 2011, May 2012 and 2013 the Forbes Midas List of investors ranked Jim Breyer number one, and in August, 2010, Fortune Magazine named Breyer one of the 10 smartest people in technology, and the smartest investor in technology.
On September 2, 2011, it was announced that Breyer had been nominated to serve on the board of News Corporation. In October 2011, he was elected to News Corporation's board with over 98% of the shareholder vote. In February, 2013, Breyer was elected a fellow of the Harvard Corporation, Harvard University's senior governing board.

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.