The Harvard University announced that James W. Breyer, a leading venture capitalist, will join the President and Fellows of Harvard College also known as the Harvard Corporation July 1, 2013.
Breyer, known for his expertise in innovative technology and media, secured his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1987. He is a partner at Accel Partners, a venture capital firm, which has a global visibility and a company that is working in various countries including Palo Alto, New York, London, China, and India.
Breyer was elected by the President and Fellows with the consent of the Board of Overseers earlier this month. He was roped in for the Harvard Corporation as part of the expansion plan central to the governance reforms adopted by the governing boards in December 2010. With him joining the university corporation, it will bring the number of directors to 13.
"Jim Breyer is one of his generation's most creative and admired venture capitalists," said President Drew Faust and Robert D. Reischauer, the Corporation's senior fellow, in a release.
The Harvard Corporation, is the principal fiduciary governing board and the smaller of Harvard's two boards, the other being the Board of Overseers.
"He combines wide experience in new technology and media with an expansive international outlook and an extraordinary capacity for catalyzing innovation and entrepreneurship," Reischauer said.
"He has been an actively engaged alumnus, most recently as a founding member of our Global Advisory Council. Beyond his professional pursuits, he has a deep commitment to the liberal arts, an imaginative perspective on the potential of technology to enhance education, and strong interests in modern and contemporary art, music, film, and photography. We very much look forward to welcoming him to the Corporation," he added.
"I'm honored by this opportunity to serve a university that blends tradition and innovation in such meaningful, powerful ways," said Breyer, who was named both the smartest investor in technology and one of the 10 smartest people in technology in 2010 by Fortune.
"The faculty, students, and staff who come together at Harvard are an extraordinary source of imagination and energy, and I'm excited at the prospect of working with Drew Faust and my future Corporation colleagues to help cultivate the spirit of curiosity and aspiration that, for me, defines Harvard," he added.