Jeffrey Williams Ubben (born 1961 or 1962) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman of ValueAct Capital, a

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Ubben is an activist board member of Exxon Mobil.

Early life

Jeffrey W. Ubben graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. He received a master of business administration from the

Kellogg School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1987.

Business career

Ubben managed the Fidelity Value Fund at

Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), owned by FMR LLC and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, provides financial services. Established in 1946, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the ...

for eight years. He was the Managing Partner of

Blum Capital Blum Capital Partners, L.P., also known as Blum Capital, is an American private equity firm founded in 1975 by Richard C. Blum. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE i ...

from 1995 to 2000. Ubben is the co-founder of ValueAct Capital, a hedge fund based in San Francisco, California, in 2000. Ubben formerly was on the Boards of Directors of Acxiom,

Gartner Gartner, Inc. is an American research and advisory firm focusing on business and technology topics. Gartner provides its products and services through research reports, conferences, and consulting. Its clients include large corporations, gover ...

, Misys, Omnicare, and the

Sara Lee Corporation The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. The Sara Lee name was used of a number of frozen and packaged foods, often known for the long-running slogan "Everybody doesn't like something, b ...

. He is on the board of directors of the

Willis Group Willis Group Holdings plc was a multinational risk advisor, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage company headquartered in the Willis Building in London. It was the third-largest insurance broker worldwide by revenues. In 2016, the com ...

. In September 2015, he was nominated to the Board of Directors of

21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., which did business as 21st Century Fox, was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was formed on June 28, 2013, as the legal successor ...

. In August 2015, Ubben acquired a minority stake in the

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. ...

. In June 2020, Ubben left ValueAct Capital in order to focus on social investing.

Philanthropy

Ubben is chair emeritus of the national Board of Directors of the

Posse Foundation The Posse Foundation is a nonprofit organization that partners with colleges and universities in the United States to provide student scholarships and leadership training. Posse has partnered with 64 U.S. colleges and universities. The organizat ...

. He is on the Boards of Trustees of Northwestern University and the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The American ...

. Ubben is also on the board of directors of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. In September, 2019, it was announced that Jeff Ubben and his wife Laurie "have made an estate commitment of $50 million to support scholarships for undergraduate, graduate and professional school students" at Northwestern University, the largest donation towards financial aid in the university's history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ubben, Jeffrey W. 1962 births Living people Duke University alumni Kellogg School of Management alumni American company founders American chief executives American hedge fund managers American corporate directors Chief investment officers Directors of ExxonMobil Shareholder-rights activists