Gideon Yu

Gideon Lee Yu
Gideon Lee Yu
Born	May 14, 1971 (age 55); United States
Occupation(s)	Investor, executive, advisor
Known for	Minority owner and first president of color of the San Francisco 49ers; CFO of Facebook and YouTube; senior VP and treasurer at Yahoo

Gideon Lee Yu (born May 14, 1971) is an American investor, executive, and advisor specializing in technology, media, and sports sectors.

Yu holds a minority ownership stake in the San Francisco 49ers and made history in 2012 as the franchise’s first president of color. Prior to his involvement in professional sports leadership, he held senior financial roles in major technology companies, including CFO positions at both Facebook and YouTube, as well as serving as senior vice president and treasurer at Yahoo.

Career

Yu completed his secondary education at the University School of Nashville in 1989. He then obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School. In the same year he graduated high school, Yu earned first place at the International Science and Engineering Fair.

During his tenure with the 49ers, Yu spearheaded the financing efforts for Levi's Stadium, arranging an $850 million construction loan—the largest ever for a professional sports venue—and securing an additional $200 million financing package from the NFL. These deals represented the most substantial long-term stadium financing in NFL history. He also accelerated the stadium’s completion date by one year, moving it from 2015 to 2014. Yu currently lives in Los Angeles.

Before his role with the 49ers, Yu was a General Partner at Khosla Ventures, where he led investments such as Square and participated as its founding independent board member.

As Facebook’s CFO, Yu orchestrated a $375 million funding round involving investors like Microsoft and billionaire Li Ka Shing, valuing the company at a then-record $15 billion. Mark Zuckerberg described Yu’s hiring as "a coup" and praised him as "just excellent."

Earlier in his career, Yu was a partner at Sequoia Capital and served as CFO at YouTube, overseeing its $1.65 billion acquisition by Google amid competitive bidding.

At Yahoo, Yu held the roles of treasurer and senior vice president of finance, managing over 30 acquisitions and investments including Alibaba, Taobao, Overture, Inktomi, Flickr, and del.icio.us. He also handled more than $5 billion in capital markets transactions. His previous experience includes CFO of NightFire Software (later acquired by NeuStar) and various positions at Disney, Hilton Worldwide, and DLJ/CSFB.

Philanthropy

Yu is a trustee of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and serves on the board of directors for Tipping Point Community. He actively supports philanthropic initiatives at his alma mater, Stanford University, contributing significantly to undergraduate scholarships and volunteering on both the School of Engineering Advisory Council and the School of Earth Sciences Task Force. His past board memberships include the UCSF Medical Foundation and BUILD.

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