John Doerr

L. John Doerr
Born	(1951-06-29) June 29, 1951 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Investor, venture capitalist
Years active	1974–present
Known for	Venture capital at Kleiner Perkins; author of Measure What Matters and Speed & Scale; founding Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Notable work	Measure What Matters; Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now

L. John Doerr (born June 29, 1951) is a prominent American investor and venture capitalist affiliated with Kleiner Perkins based in Menlo Park, California. In February 2009, he was appointed to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide guidance on mitigating the U.S. economic crisis. According to Forbes, Doerr was ranked as the 40th wealthiest individual in the technology sector in 2017 and, as of August 2023, held the position of the 146th richest person worldwide, with an estimated net worth of US$11.9 billion. He is the author of Measure What Matters, a book focused on effective goal-setting strategies, as well as Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now.

In 2022, John and his wife Ann collaborated with Stanford University to found the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, marking Stanford’s first new academic school in nearly seven decades.

Early life

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Doerr is one of five children. He completed his secondary education at Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis. He earned both a B.S. and a M.E.E. degree in electrical engineering from Rice University, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1976.

Career

Doerr started his professional journey at Intel Corporation in 1974 during the creation of the 8080 8-bit microprocessor. He quickly rose to become one of Intel’s leading sales executives and holds multiple patents related to memory technology. In 1980, despite Intel president Andrew Grove’s skepticism—who compared venture capital to real estate brokerage—Doerr transitioned to join Kleiner Perkins.

At Kleiner Perkins, Doerr has overseen venture capital investments in major technology companies including Compaq, Netscape, Symantec, Sun Microsystems, drugstore.com, Amazon.com, Intuit, Macromedia, and Google. His investment portfolio includes support for influential entrepreneurs such as Google’s Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt; Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos; and Intuit’s founders Scott Cook and Bill Campbell.

Venture funding

Doerr co-established and serves on the boards of the New Schools Venture Fund, which promotes education reform and charter public schools, as well as TechNet, a coalition of high-tech CEOs advocating for policies that foster innovation-driven economic growth. He co-chaired California’s Proposition 39, which eased requirements for school bond approvals, and Proposition 71, which allocated $3 billion towards stem cell research initiatives. Additionally, Doerr is a board member of Bono’s ONE campaign, focused on combating poverty and disease across Africa. Frequently recognized among top technology venture capitalists, he has been featured on Forbes magazine's "Midas List."

A vocal proponent of clean energy advancements to address climate change, Doerr has delivered numerous talks on the subject, including a notable TED presentation in 2007 underscoring the critical need to tackle global warming.

In 2008, alongside Steve Jobs, Doerr launched the Kleiner Perkins $100 million iFund, spotlighting the iPhone’s revolutionary impact. By 2010, this fund expanded to $200 million, becoming the largest dedicated investment pool for mobile app development.

Currently, Doerr holds board positions at companies such as Google, Watershed, Amyris Biotech, Tradesy, ASAPP, and Zynga. He spearheaded Kleiner Perkins's $150 million investment in Twitter in 2012.

In 2013, he invested in education technology firm DreamBox, which was later acquired by Charter School Growth Fund. His early investments also include Bloom Energy Inc., alongside significant backing for education platform Remind.

Doerr relinquished his leadership role at Kleiner Perkins in 2016, handing over duties to Ted Schlein. Early in her career at Kleiner Perkins, he mentored executive Ellen Pao.

He also contributes as a board member for both the Obama Foundation and ONE.org.

Economic Recovery Advisory Board

In February 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Doerr to serve on the USA Economic Recovery Advisory Board, where he provided guidance on strategies to counteract the nation's economic recession.

Personal life

Doerr and his wife, Ann Howland Doerr, live in Woodside, California with their two children.

In August 2010, the couple pledged to give away their fortune during their lifetimes by joining the Giving Pledge.

Recognized for his professional accomplishments, Doerr was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by Rice University in 1997. He was also inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2009, entered the California Hall of Fame in 2010, and received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 2019.

He holds a position on the Global Advisory Board of Khan Academy.

On May 4, 2022, Stanford University announced a historic $1.1 billion contribution from Ann and John Doerr to create the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. This donation represents Stanford’s largest gift ever and ranks as the second-largest donation to an educational institution, following Michael Bloomberg's $1.8 billion endowment to Johns Hopkins University.

Politics

A supporter of the Democratic Party, Doerr has organized fundraisers for its candidates. Together with Mark Zuckerberg and Reid Hoffman, he co-established FWD.us, a lobbying organization focused on advancing immigration reform, enhancing education, and promoting scientific innovation.