A noted figure in the business world, Tom Perkins' presence as a pioneering venture capitalist and entrepreneur has helped drive successful innovations in the high-tech and biotech industries. In 1972, he founded one of the first venture capital firms in the world with Eugene Kleiner.
Perkins' book "Valley Boy" provides an intriguing retrospective of his pioneering career and personal experiences including his marriage to romance novelist Danielle Steel, unexpected resignation from HP's board last year, and friendships with Valley movers and shakers- Commonwealth Club of California
Bio
Michael S. Malone
Michael S. Malone is an award-winning journalist who has reported on Silicon Valley since the early 1980s. He has written 15 books, including The Microprocessor: A Biography. Currently, he is an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University, an associate fellow at Said Business School and a blogger at Forbes.com.
Tom Perkins
Tom Perkins is an American businessman, capitalist, and was one of the founders of leading venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Tom Perkins is a graduate of MIT in Electronic Engineering and Harvard University in Business Administration. He is now, or has been, a Director of the following public corporations: Acuson (Chairman), Applied Materials, Compaq Computer, Corning Glass Works, Genentech (Chairman), Hewlett Packard Company, Hybritech, LSI Logic, The News Corporation, Philips Electronics NV, Spectra-Physics, Symantec and Tandem Computers (Chairman).
Robert Saldich
Robert Saldich is the Chair of the Board of Governors at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, CA.
The use of biology to solve problems and make useful products. The growth of the field is linked to the development in the 1970s of genetic engineering. Biotechnology merges biological information with computer technology to advance research in other areas, including nanotechnology and regenerative medicine. Today there are numerous commercial biotechnology firms that manufacture genetically engineered substances for a variety of mostly medical, agricultural, and ecological uses.