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Tomas PerkinsOne of the founders of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield
Date of Birth: 07.01.1932
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Thomas Perkins
Thomas James Perkins was born on January 7, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois. He grew up in White Plains, New York. Perkins graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. After graduation, he worked at the Sperry Gyroscope Company for about a year. In 1957, Perkins obtained a master's degree in industrial management from Harvard University.
After completing his studies, Perkins moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined Hewlett-Packard (HP) as a sales manager. He worked his way up in the company, starting as a machinist and eventually becoming the manager of the Western Sales Division. After leaving HP, Perkins worked as a consultant at Booz, Allen & Hamilton for about a year. In 1961, he joined Optics Technology, a company financed by the founders of Hewlett-Packard, at the request of David Packard. However, Perkins left Optics Technology three years later after a conflict with its founder.
In 1965, Perkins founded University Laboratories in Berkeley, which specialized in producing helium-neon gas lasers. He returned to Hewlett-Packard in the same year as a business manager for its research laboratory. In 1966, at Packard's request, Perkins became the head of HP's new computer division. In 1970, University Laboratories merged with Spectral Physics, where Perkins served as a director. He then became the director of corporate development at Hewlett-Packard in the same year before leaving the company in 1972 to pursue a career in venture capitalism.
In the summer of 1972, Perkins and Eugene Kleiner co-founded the firm Kleiner & Perkins. In January 1973, they opened their first venture capital fund with $8 million. Over the years, they established several other funds, with the fourth one reaching $150 million in 1986. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers became one of the most renowned and successful venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. Perkins served as the chairman of the board for numerous high-tech companies, including Genentech, Acuson, and Alliant Computer Systems. He also held director positions at News Corporation, Corning Glass Works, Home Health Care of America, Collagen, LSI Logic, Hybritech, Econics, and Vitalink Communications. From 1974 to 1997, Perkins was the chairman of the board at Tandem Computers.
