James Albert Attwood Jr. is an American businessman. He serves as a Senior Advisor at

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...

and chairman of Syniverse Technologies. He is a former investment banker at

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

and EVP of

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

. He was a major donor to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's 2016 presidential campaign and Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.

Early life and education

Attwood is the son of James A. Attwood, former chairman and chief executive of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. and Pauline Attwood, former director of the Bronxville Adult School, Attwood graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

where he earned a BA in

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

and an MA in

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

in 1980. He then attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and earned a J.D. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and an M.B.A. from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1984.

Career

Attwood started his career as an investment banker for

, where he worked in New York and Tokyo for eleven years. He subsequently served as the Executive Vice President for Strategy, Development and Planning for

and

GTE Corporation GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furt ...

for four years. He joined

in 2000, where he is now a Senior Advisor. Between 2000 and 2017 he directed Carlyle's private equity investments in the media and telecommunications industries globally, and between 2014 and 2017 he directed the firm's investments in the technology industry as well. Attwood joined the board of directors of Nielsen Holdings in 2006 and was appointed its chairman in 2016. He stepped down in October 2022 when Nielsen was taken private. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors of Syniverse. He also served as an Independent Director at CoreSite Realty, and he formerly served as Co-Chair of Dex Media, and as director of Getty Images, Hawaiian Telcom and Insight Communications. Attwood joined the Dean's Advisory Board for

in 2010. He currently serves as chair of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York and also Chairs the New York PBS station group WNET and Friends of MVY Radio, operator of the public radio station WMVY on Martha's Vineyard. Attwood also serves as a member of the Global Board of

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

Political activity

Attwood is a major donor to the Democratic Party, and donated to Correct the Record, a Super PAC which supported

's 2016 presidential campaign. He also donated to Priorities USA Action, another pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC, as well as to the Hillary Victory Fund and Hillary for America.

Personal life

Attwood and his wife, Leslie Kim Williams, met at Harvard Law School, where they both graduated in the class of 1984. They have one daughter, Samantha Kim Attwood. They reside in Bedford Hills, New York, Martha's Vineyard, MA and Honolulu, HI.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attwood, James Living people People from Bedford Hills, New York People from Martha's Vineyard Yale College alumni Harvard Business School alumni American investment bankers Goldman Sachs people The Carlyle Group people American chairpersons of corporations Date of birth missing (living people) Harvard Law School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni