Mary Meeker
Mary Meeker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth year and age Portland, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Venture capitalist, securities analyst |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Known for | Founder and general partner of BOND; former partner at Kleiner Perkins; author of Internet Trends Report |
Mary Meeker (born September 1959) is an American venture capitalist and ex-Wall Street securities analyst with a focus on Internet and emerging technologies. She is the founder and general partner of BOND, a venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco. Before establishing BOND, Meeker was a partner at Kleiner Perkins.
Often referred to as the "Queen of the Internet," she was ranked 84th on the 2021 Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. A regular presence on the Midas List, she held the 21st spot in 2021 and was the second highest-ranked female investor in 2022. In 2023, Forbes placed her at number 85 among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.
Early life and education
Originating from Portland, Indiana, Meeker is the daughter of Gordon and Mary and has an elder brother named Dick. Her father’s enthusiasm for golf played a role in shaping her competitive spirit, which was evident during her tenure as captain of the golf team at Jay County High School.
She completed her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in psychology at DePauw University in 1981 and later attained an MBA specializing in finance from Cornell University in 1986. In recognition of her achievements, DePauw University awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 2000.
Career
Meeker started her professional journey as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch in 1982. Upon finishing graduate school, she joined Salomon Brothers in 1986 as a technology analyst. Between 1990 and 1991, she was employed at Cowen, after which she moved to Morgan Stanley, concentrating on sectors such as personal computers and consumer software.
Morgan Stanley
In August 1995, Morgan Stanley managed the initial public offering (IPO) for Netscape. By February 1996, Meeker, alongside Chris DePuy, released "The Internet Report," a pivotal industry analysis that became essential reading for investors during the dot-com surge. Under her guidance, Morgan Stanley continued to publish influential reports covering areas like online advertising, e-commerce growth, search engine advancements, developments within the Chinese Internet market, and trends related to mobile Internet usage.
After the dot-com bubble collapsed between 2000 and 2002, Meeker underwent scrutiny amid fraud investigations but was ultimately not charged; Morgan Stanley participated in a comprehensive settlement alongside other companies.
Morgan Stanley also spearheaded Google's IPO in August 2004 with Meeker serving as a research analyst. Fortune’s Andrew Serwer praised her exceptional ability to identify nascent trends and produce detailed reports filled with valuable insights. She is widely recognized for delivering annual overviews of the Internet industry at Web 2.0 conferences held in San Francisco.
During Morgan Stanley's leadership turmoil in April 2005, Meeker and other senior executives drafted a letter addressing cultural issues to co-presidents Zoe Cruz and Steve Crawford. This correspondence influenced the board's attention toward organizational challenges prior to John J. Mack’s appointment as CEO in June 2005. This letter is documented in Patricia Beard's book Blue Blood and Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley (HarperCollins, 2007). In 2010, Fortune listed Meeker among the "ten smartest people in tech."
Kleiner Perkins
In December 2010, Meeker transitioned from her position as managing director at Morgan Stanley to become a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, where she contributed to more than 20 investments. She holds board memberships at DocuSign, a provider of electronic signature solutions, Square, Inc., a mobile payment company, and Lending Club, a platform specializing in peer-to-peer lending.
In February 2011, Meeker published USA Inc., a non-partisan analysis examining U.S. government finances through a business-oriented lens. Among the early successful stock recommendations she advocated were companies such as Dell, Microsoft, Intuit, Netscape, AOL, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, eBay, and Google. Conversely, some investments proved less fruitful, including AOL following its merger with Time Warner, Excite@Home, and drugstore.com.
Additionally, Meeker appeared as a witness in the gender discrimination lawsuit involving Ellen Pao.
BOND
Meeker departed from Kleiner Perkins in September 2018 to establish her own venture capital firm, Bond Capital (stylized as BOND), based in San Francisco. She successfully raised $1.2 billion for her first fund. BOND's initial investment occurred in May 2019 with a $70 million funding round for the online design platform Canva. By March 2021, the firm closed its second fund, securing $2 billion in commitments.
Internet Trends Report
The annual Internet Trends Report authored by Meeker was eagerly awaited by technology investors and was published every year from 1995 through 2019. Originally released during her tenure as a technology analyst at Morgan Stanley, this report offered detailed data and insights on pivotal Internet developments, consumer patterns, and cultural transformations influencing the digital economy. The final edition appeared in 2019 at the Code Conference hosted by Vox/Recode.
In May 2025, BOND Capital issued its first Trends report focused on Artificial Intelligence, with Meeker as the lead author—marking her return to producing a Trends report since 2019.