James Attwood
James Albert Attwood Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Business executive, senior advisor |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for | Senior Advisor at The Carlyle Group, chairman of Syniverse Technologies, former Executive Vice President at Verizon Communications |
| Spouse | Leslie Kim Williams |
| Children | 1 |
James Albert Attwood Jr. is a prominent American business executive who currently holds the position of Senior Advisor at The Carlyle Group and serves as chairman of Syniverse Technologies. His professional background includes a tenure as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and a role as Executive Vice President at Verizon Communications. Attwood was also a notable financial supporter of both Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid and Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.
Early life and education
Attwood is the son of James A. Attwood, who formerly led the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York as chairman and CEO, and Pauline Attwood, who directed the Bronxville Adult School.
He earned his undergraduate degree with summa cum laude distinction from Yale University in 1980, receiving a BA in applied mathematics along with a MA in statistics. Subsequently, he obtained both a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, completing these degrees in 1984.
Career
Attwood launched his professional journey at Goldman Sachs, where he spent eleven years in investment banking roles based in New York and Tokyo. Following this, he dedicated four years to serving as Executive Vice President responsible for Strategy, Development, and Planning at both Verizon Communications and its predecessor, GTE Corporation. In 2000, he transitioned to The Carlyle Group, taking on the role of Senior Advisor and overseeing private equity investments across media, telecommunications, and technology sectors worldwide until 2017.
In 2006, Attwood joined the board of Nielsen Holdings and ascended to chairman in 2016, a position he held until October 2022 when Nielsen transitioned to private ownership. He currently chairs the board of Syniverse and has held an Independent Director role at CoreSite Realty. His past board memberships include Co-Chairmanship at Dex Media and directorships at companies such as Getty Images, Hawaiian Telcom, and Insight Communications.
Beyond his corporate engagements, Attwood has been a member of the Dean's Advisory Board for Harvard Law School since 2010. He leads the boards of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, the New York PBS affiliate group WNET, and Friends of MVY Radio, which operates public radio station WMVY. Additionally, he participates on the Global Board of Directors for The Nature Conservancy.
Political activity
As a major contributor to Democratic causes, Attwood has financially supported Super PACs including Correct the Record and Priorities USA Action during Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. His donations also extended to the Hillary Victory Fund and Hillary for America.
Personal life
Attwood is married to Leslie Kim Williams, a fellow Harvard Law School alumna from the class of 1984. Together they have one daughter named Samantha Kim Attwood. The family maintains homes in Bedford Hills, New York, Martha's Vineyard, MA, and Honolulu, HI.