Around The World In A Single Stroke
Photo of William Henry Draper III

BILL DRAPER BIOGRAPHY

Diplomat and Pioneer Venture Capitalist

With over forty years of experience, William H. Draper III is one of the West Coast's first venture capitalists. He is General Partner of Draper Richards L.P., a venture capital fund focusing on early-stage technology companies in the U.S., and Draper International, a venture capital fund investing in private companies with operations in the U.S. and India. Mr. Draper was founder of Sutter Hill Ventures in Palo Alto, California. During his twenty years as the senior partner of Sutter Hill, he helped to organize and finance several hundred high technology manufacturing companies. Mr. Draper served from 1981 to 1986 as President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In 1986, he became the head of the world's largest source of multilateral development grant assistance, the United Nations Development Program. In addition to serving on many corporate boards of directors, Mr. Draper has served on the boards of the Atlantic Council, Draper Richards Foundation, Hoover Institution, Institute of International Studies at Stanford University, World Affairs Council of Northern California and the United Nations Association-USA. Mr. Draper formerly served as the Chairman of the World Affairs Council of Northern California, Chairman of the Institute of International Education, as a Trustee of Yale University and as Chairman of the Board of the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco; he was a former Board member of Population Action International, George Bush Library Foundation, the Advisory Council of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the World Rehabilitation Fund in New York. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the President's Council on International Activities at Yale University. In 2005, he received the Vision Award from SD Forum and was inducted into the Dow Jones Venture Capital Hall of Fame. In 2006, he received the Silicon Valley Fast 50 Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Institute of International Education. 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.