Donald Wood
Lecturer in Management
Research Statement
Research Interests
- Venture Capital
- Entrepreneurship
- Leadership and Team Building
- Business Strategy
- Sustainable Energy
- Energy Efficiency
Teaching Statement
Bio
In addition to his teaching at the Stanford GSB, Don is a partner at the venture capital firm DFJ and senior advisor to Energy Impact Partners, PIVA Capital, and the Xfund. Don spent the first 20 years of his career as a consultant at McKinsey and as a founder of and executive in Silicon Valley tech companies. He has been a venture capitalist for the last 20 years in partnerships that have invested in over 400 hundred technology startups, including 35 companies that have achieved valuations of over $1Billion (e.g. Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity, Vocera, Box, Redfin, Twilio, Skype). He has worked and invested in the communications, enterprise software, consumer web, and sustainable energy industries. Don has served on 15 public and private Boards. He has a passion for helping entrepreneurs refine their products and strategy.
Academic Degrees
- BA, Economics, Stanford University, 1976
- MBA, Stanford GSB, 1980
Professional Experience
- DFJ, 2006-present
- Vanguard Ventures, 1998-2006
- Octel Communications, 1991-1994
- Metricom, 1995-1998
- Wood-Howard Products, 1989-1990
- International Power Technology, 1984-89
- McKinsey and Company, 1980-1983
- US EPA, 1976-1978
Teaching
Degree Courses
Stanford University Affiliations
- Board of Directors Stanford DAPER Fund