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Harvard Business School Association of Northern California is pleased to announce Pitch Johnson, Founder of Asset Management Company, as the forty-fourth recipient of the Business Leader of the Year award. Pitch will be honored for his many contributions to both the business and non-profit communities at a reception and dinner on Monday, November 12, The Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco.
The Business Leader of the Year Award honors an executive who, as determined by the HBSA/NC Club, has made unparalleled contribution to creating and running businesses, and extraordinary contributions to the non-profit community in the Bay Area and beyond. Net proceeds from this dinner support the award-winning HBS Community Partners program and fund non-profit scholarships.
Pitch Johnson
Founder, Asset Management Company
Pitch Johnson was co-founder of the venture capital company, Draper and Johnson Investment in 1962. He became an independent venture capitalist in 1965 as the founder of Asset Management Company, an early-stage capital venture company. Asset Management Company has made over 250 venture investments during its more than 47 years of operation. As one of the earliest pioneers among venture capitalists, Pitch was instrumental in helping build many companies including Amgen, Applied Bio Systems, Applied Micro Circuits, Conductus, Hybritech, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, Octel, Qume, Red Brick Systems, Remedy, Sierra Semiconductor, Tandem Computer, Teradyne and Verity.
Pitch is a past director of the National Venture Capital Association, a past president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists, and was a trustee of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District for 12 years. He also taught a class in entrepreneurship and venture capital at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for 12 years and is still active on the faculty. He has served as an advisor to several eastern European countries since 1990 in the area of entrepreneurship and privatization, and has helped form venture funds in several countries. He is active in educational and cultural affairs and served as chairman of the board of San Francisco Opera from 1999-2008.
Pitch and his wife, Cathie, are intensely involved in philanthropic and community activities. Through their family foundation, the Johnsons have contributed generously to a number of organizations throughout the Bay Area and beyond, including BUILD, Collective Roots, East Palo Alto Youth Court, Girls for a Change, the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the San Francisco Opera.
Pitch has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School, class of 1952.
Introductory remarks by William H. Draper III, General Partner of Draper
Richards L.P.
William H. Draper III
General Partner, Draper Richards L.P.
William H. Draper III is one of the West Coast's first venture capitalists, and
in 1962 formed Draper & Johnson with his good friend, Pitch Johnson. He then
founded Sutter Hill Ventures in 1965 and served as Senior Partner for 20 years.
Mr. Draper is currently General Partner of Draper Richards L.P., a venture
capital fund focusing on early-stage technology companies in the U.S., and
General Partner of Draper International, a venture capital fund investing in
private companies with operations in the U.S. and India. He also serves as
Co-Chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a venture philanthropy
firm focused on start-up non-profit organizations promoting social change.
Recently, he authored the book, The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between
Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs. Mr. Draper has a Bachelor of Arts degree
from Yale University, and a Master of Business degree, with distinction, from
the Harvard Graduate School of Business, class of 1954.
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EVENT DETAILS
Monday, November 12, 2012
6:00 PM - Champagne Reception (Baker Scholar, Crimson & Patron guests only)
6:30 PM – General Reception
7:30 PM - Dinner and Presentations
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
600 Stockton Street
San Francisco CA 94108
Table prices & current table buyers
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