Alan Patricof is the founder and managing director of Greycroft LLC. A longtime innovator and advocate for venture capital, Alan entered the industry in its formative days with the creation of Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc., a predecessor to Apax Partners – today, one of the world’s leading private equity firms with $41 billion under management. He stepped back from the daily administration and operational aspects of Apax Partners, LP in 2004 to concentrate on a group of small venture deals on its behalf. In 2006, he founded Greycroft Partners, a venture capital firm, to invest in leading early and expansion stage investments in digital media. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Greycroft is currently investing from its third Fund as well as its Growth Fund, and has $600MM under management.
With a 40-plus year career in venture capital, Alan has been instrumental in growing the venture capital field from a base of high net-worth individuals to its position today with broad institutional backing, as well as playing a key role in the essential legislative initiatives that have guided its evolution. He has helped build and foster the growth of numerous major global companies, including, among others, America Online, Office Depot, Cadence Systems, Cellular Communications, Inc., Apple Computer, FORE Systems, NTL, IntraLinks, and Audible. He was also a founder and chairman of the board of New York magazine, which later acquired the Village Voice and New West magazine.
Alan is active in the New York and Washington communities. He is a board member of the Finance Committee of Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem and the Board of Overseers of Columbia School of Business. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In October 2013, he was appointed as a Member of the President’s Global Development Council by Barack Obama. From 2007 to 2012, he served two terms on the board of Millennium Challenge Corporation, having been appointed by Presidents Bush and Obama respectively. From 1993 to 1995, he served as Chairman of the White House Conference on Small Business Commission in The Clinton Administration. In addition, he is a former board member of TechnoServe, Trickle Up Program, Global Advisory Board of Endeavor, Applied Sciences NYC Advisory Board, and the Initiative for Global Development (IGD) Leadership Council. He is currently an advisor to Disney’s Accelerator Program.
Alan holds a BS in Finance from Ohio State University and an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
Makers and Takers: The Financialization of America
David Kirkpatrick interviews Rana Foroohar, author of Makers and Takers: The Financialization of America, alongside legendary venture capitalist Alan Patricof to talk about how the American finance industry has grown and changed in the past several decades, and why right now is an exciting moment for American entrepreneurs.
Conferences
NYC 16
For four years, the impact of tech and increasing interconnection on the economy and urban revival has shaped the agenda for our annual one-day Techonomy Detroit conference.
