David Vaclav Palecek (August 8, 1972 – February 16, 2010) was a junior partner at management consultancy

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

and a protégé of

Anil Kumar Anil Kumar (born 1958) is an Indian-American former senior partner and director at management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he co-founded McKinsey's offices in Silicon Valley and India and created its Internet practice (representin ...

accused in the related Galleon Group insider trading cases with Kumar and former classmate

Rengan Rajaratnam Rajarengan "Rengan" Rajaratnam (born 1971) is a hedge fund manager. He is the founder of hedge fund Sedna Capital and the younger brother of convicted hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam. He was arrested for securities fraud in March 2013. His trial ...

of leaking inside information about semiconductor company

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...

while head of the semiconductor practice at McKinsey. He graduated with a BS from

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

and an MBA from the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...

. He died in 2010 from complications of a staphylococcus infection.

Career

Palecek was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and grew up in the wealthy suburb of

Atherton, California Atherton () is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,188 as of 2020. Atherton is known for its wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Athe ...

. He graduated from

Menlo-Atherton High School Menlo-Atherton High School (known as M-A to locals) is a four-year public charter secondary school located in Atherton, California. Menlo-Atherton is part of the Sequoia Union High School District.

, and the

before working at

McKinsey and Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

in the Palo Alto office, where he rose to junior partner and head of the semiconductor practice. Palecek was described by colleagues as a likely candidate for eventual promotion to senior partner before passing away from a staphylococcus infection in 2010.

Galleon Group implications

Palecek was a protégé of senior partner

and the business school classmate of

, a portfolio manager at the

Galleon Group The Galleon Group was one of the largest hedge fund management firms in the world, managing over $7 billion, before closing in October 2009. The firm was the center of a 2009 insider trading scandal which subsequently led to its fall. The firm wa ...

hedge fund and the younger brother of its owner

Raj Rajaratnam Rajakumaran Rajaratnam (born June 15, 1957) is a Sri Lankan-American former hedge fund manager and founder of the Galleon Group, a New York-based hedge fund management firm. On October 16, 2009, he was arrested by the FBI for insider trading ...

. Trial testimony revealed Palecek telling Rengan that "my best ideas are inside information." Rengan Rajaratnam also described Palecek as "dirty" and tried to hire Palecek's wife as a consultant to Galleon. His family's lawyer has denied all involvement. Raj Rajaratnam is currently serving a 14-year sentence for securities fraud; Kumar pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation; Rengan Rajaratnam was arrested by the FBI in March 2013 but was acquitted in 2014 after being found not guilty at trial.. As the third McKinsey partner—in addition to former mentor Kumar and Kumar's mentor (and former McKinsey CEO) Rajat Gupta — implicated in the criminal investigation of the Galleon Group, Palecek's involvement prompted media speculation and pressure as to McKinsey's wider role in the investigation.Kumar says he was ‘terrified' to see Intel papers
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References

External links

McKinsey implicated in Galleon trial

Third McKinsey exec named in Galleon case

McKinsey exec linked to scheme after death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palecek, David Vaclav McKinsey & Company people 1972 births 2010 deaths University of California, Davis alumni People from Atherton, California