Alan E. Salzman (born 1953)[1] is an American venture capitalist and managing partner.[2] He is the co-founder, CEO and Managing Partner of VantagePoint Capital Partners, a venture capital firm in the U.S. and an investor in clean technology companies.[3]
Alan Salzman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Alan E. Salzman |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation(s) | Venture capitalist and CEO |
| Spouse | Tiara Cameron Salzman (m. 2020) |
Education edit
Salzman is a graduate of the London School of Economics (GC), the University of Toronto (BA), Stanford Law School (JD), and the University of Brussels, Belgium (LLM).[2]
Career edit
In 1996, Salzman, and Jim Marver, co-founded VantagePoint Capital Partners, a venture capital firm based in San Bruno, California which funded tech startups, including MySpace and Flip, before changing its focus to clean energy.[4] VantagePoint manages approximately $4.5 billion of committed capital, including more than $1 billion committed to clean energy technology.[5] In his career, Salzman has been involved with funding more than 300 startup companies including Tesla Motors, BrightSource Energy, Goldwind, Liquid Robotics and Solarcentury.[6][7][8]
Salzman has served as Finance Chair of the World Business Summit on Climate Change,[9] is a member of the BP Alternative Energy’s advisory board and was an adjunct professor at Stanford University. He currently serves as a member of the International Leadership Council of The Climate Group,[10] is a member of the World Economic Forum having served on its technology pioneer selection committee[11] and is on the board of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.[12]
In 2015, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, had characterized Salzman as a bad faith investor, claiming that Salzman tried to block an early-stage funding round in Tesla, that was vital if the business was to continue to trade. Musk assumed that Salzman wanted to bankrupt Tesla, emerging from the process with control of its assets.[13]
Personal life edit
Salzman is married to Tiara Cameron Salzman. In November 2020, the couple bought a mansion in Montecito, California.[8] They also built and donated a library and community center, called the Salzman Library, in Namibia in January 2021.[14]
References edit
- ^ Robinson, Melia (October 3, 2017). "An early Tesla investor wants to offload his Silicon Valley mansion for $40 million — take a look inside". Business Insider.
- ^ a b "Bloomberg Business". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ "An Interview with VantagePoint CEO Alan Salzman". Forbes. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ Abate, Tom (December 27, 2009). "Venture investor Alan Salzman in the spotlight". Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ Staff (2009-01-31). "DAVOS-VantagePoint has over $1 bln for green startups". Reuters.
- ^ Thompson, Clive (2009-04-16). "Batteries Not Included". The New York Times.
- ^ "VantagePoint Capital Partners". vpcp.com.
- ^ a b McClain, James (2020-11-13). "Venture Capitalist Alan Salzman Buys $18 Million Montecito Estate, Lists Beverly Hills Mansion". Variety.
- ^ III, Burton St John; Martinelli, Diana Knott; Pritchard, Robert S.; Spaulding, Cylor (2018-08-02). Cases in Public Relations Strategy. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-5443-3994-8.
- ^ "Alan E. Salzman". World Economic Forum.
- ^ "World Economic Forum". weforum.org.
- ^ "Silicon Valley Leadership Group". svlg.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ Vance, Ashlee (May 14, 2015). "Elon Musk's Space Dream Almost Killed Tesla". Bloomberg News.
- ^ Stofberg, Mariselle (February 2, 2021). "Leaving footprints in education". Namibian Sun.
Further reading edit
- Alan Salzman CEO and Managing VantagePoint Venture Partners. San Francisco Business Times, March 20, 2009
- A Modern Midas