Born and raised in Portland, OR. Was an avid, but unskilled, athlete, and never flew on an airplane before my 19th birthday. Worked my way through Reed College as a research biologist, and found myself heavily indebted after graduation. Joined Intel in manufacturing, enjoyed the work and shifted career from reserach biologist to business in the IT world. Attended business school and subsequently worked at Sequent, Cisco, and NCube in various operational roles, mostly sales and marketing. Moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1989, and made friends with Masayoshi Son, founder of Softbank, at a driving range. Subsequently convinced Cisco to work with Son/Softbank in creating a JV in Japan in 1994. in 1995, joined Softbank to head up Softbank's venture capital business. First day as a VC met with teams from US Web and Yahoo. Decided the VC world would be fun. Founded or helped start 9 venture funds between 1995 and 2009, including 4 funds in China. Retired from all the Softbank and Mobius funds in 2004, and moved with my family to Shanghai where we live today.
The intersection of China, U.S., Entrepreneurs, and Technology. Energy efficiency. Philanthropic efficiency. Encouraging people to experience the world, not just read about it. Life.
China and the U.S. are inextricably linked in their future success or failure. There is no circumstance that can result in the U.S. being successful if China fails, and vice versa. As a result, it is incredibly important for Americans and Chinese to understand each other and the reality that each country faces. This is mostly clearly evident in issues related to climate change and the environment. We do not need to ignore wrong doings, but we do need to approach every discussion, on both sides, in the spirit of partnership and mutual success.
Innovation in China, What you should know about China, water, education in the U.S., our responsibilities to help others less fortunate than themselves, making philanthropy more efficient.
Group travel planning, making different kinds of people comfortable with each other, helping kids decide where to go to college, forecasting disruptions to my travel plans!
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A comment on Conversation: William Gibson said "The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed yet." What futures have you seen that are here, but unrecognized?
some observations...
a. most innovation is now in areas that have no legacy resources - so by definition, most of us in the US and wealthy countries won't see it.
b. local local local...the future investment needs to be in the our local communities and the trades that support them.
c. rent the future don't own it...sharing of assets will irreovcably increase in the future.
Gary
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