James D. Robinson IV
James D. Robinson IV | |
---|---|
Born |
New York, NY, United States | June 13, 1962
Residence | New York, US |
Citizenship | USA |
Alma mater | Harvard Business School |
Occupation | Co-Founder, Managing Partner - RRE Ventures |
Political party | Independent (voter) |
James D. Robinson IV (also known as James D. Robinson, or Jim Robinson, born June 13, 1962) is an American venture capitalist and entrepreneur best known for his position as Co-Founder and Managing Partner of RRE Ventures, a large venture capital firm based in New York City. His firm has provided $1.5 billion of venture capital financing to over two hundred fifty companies since its 1994 founding. Direct investments associated with Robinson include Broadsoft (BSFT), GoldPocket/Wireless (Tandberg/Motricity), iCrossing (Hearst), Metapath (Marconi), Mixed Signals (Tektronix), Orchestria (Computer Associates), Red Brick (REDB), RevolutionMoney (American Express), Rubric (Broadbase), SmartPay (Ping An Insurance), SmarterKids (SKDS), Telocity (Hughes), Vastera (VAST), Vocera (VCRA), WeddingChannel (TheKnot.com), and WisdomTree Investments (WETF).
Robinson has also founded or co-founded several other companies, including Abra,[1] Symposia Group, InterVideo Response, and IV Systems. He is the inventor of the Quirky Switch.
Education
Robinson is a 1986 Business Administration / Computer Science graduate of Antioch College, and a 1992 MBA graduate of Harvard Business School.
RRE Ventures
Robinson Co-Founded RRE Ventures (previously Sunset Partners) in late 1994 along with former Harvard Business School classmate (and 92nd Street Y Board President) Stuart J. Ellman. His father, James D. Robinson III, joined them full-time in 1996. Among the firm's notable investments are Avant, Betaworks, Braintree, BroadSoft, Business Insider, Buzzfeed, Cyota, Concur, Extricity, eMachines, GiGa Information Group, Goldpocket, iCrossing, Kroll Bond Ratings, Loudeye, Makerbot, Massive, MessageOne, Metapath, Netcentives, Nexsan, OnDeck, Proofpoint, Quirky, Qpass, Recyclebank, Revolution Money, Rubric, Smartpay, ScreamingMedia, Taleo, Taqua, Telocity, Vastera, Venmo, Vine, Vocera, Watchguard, WeddingChannel, Whiptail, and WisdomTree Investments.
Other
Robinson was formerly with Hambrecht & Quist and JP Morgan & Co. He had also previously worked at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Washington DC office of the 1984 Reagan-Bush Campaign, and General Electric.
Robinson has been a director of many private and several public companies, and has been listed on the Forbes Midas List of top venture capital investors. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Empire State Realty Trust (owner of the Empire State Building and other properties - NYSE: ESRT), along with several non-profit organizations, including the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the National Organization on Drug Abuse Problems. He is a Director of the Partnership for New York City Investment Fund. Robinson has lectured at several universities, including the City University of New York, Columbia University, Harvard Business School, New York University, Stanford University, and the Wharton School.
Robinson was the recipient of a 2007 Lewis Rudin Award in New York City.[2]
Early life
Robinson was raised in New York City and Sun Valley, ID. He attended several primary and secondary schools before returning to New York to Robert Louis Stevenson for high school. In his late teens he drove a NYC Taxi.
References
External links
- http://www.rre.com/team/james-d-robinson/ Biography on RRE website
- http://www.forbes.com/profile/james-robinson/ Profile on Forbes
- http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=9156598&privcapId=22779&previousCapId=22779&previousTitle=RRE%20Ventures%20LLC/ Profile on Bloomberg
- http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20121118/FINANCE/311189969/wisdom-tree-backers-leave-nest Wisdomtree Article
- http://ir.wisdomtree.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=780026 Wisdomtree Board
- http://pfnyc.org/our-investments/board-of-directors/ NYCP Fund Board
- http://www.goabra.com/ Abra
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccafannin/2013/03/07/why-the-valley-the-alley-wont-meet-why-nyc-doesnt-have-a-facebook/ Forbes Alley vs Valley
- http://shop.quirky.com/products/switch-knife Quirky Switch
- http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141223005519/en/Empire-State-Realty-Trust-Announces-James-D./ ESRT
- http://www.nadap.org/about_nadap/board.asp NADAP Advisor
- James D. Robinson IV on Twitter