Jeffrey Williams Ubben (born 1961/1962) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman of

ValueAct Capital ValueAct Capital is a San Francisco-based investment company with a portfolio value calculated at about $9.269 billion on behalf of several institutional and individual investors. The company is a privately owned hedge fund that invests in the p ...

, a

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...

based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Ubben is an activist board member of Exxon Mobil.

Early life

Jeffrey W. Ubben graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. He received a master of business administration from the

Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1987.

Business career

Ubben managed the Fidelity Value Fund at

Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, commonly referred to as Fidelity, earlier as Fidelity Management & Research or FMR, is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in 1946 and is on ...

for eight years. He served as the Managing Partner of

Blum Capital Blum Capital Partners, L.P., also known as Blum Capital, is an American private equity firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm is focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE investments in small cap and middle-market c ...

from 1995 to 2000. Ubben is the co-founder of

, a hedge fund based in San Francisco, California, in 2000. Ubben formerly served on the Boards of Directors of

Acxiom Acxiom (pronounced "ax-ee-um") is a Conway, Arkansas-based database marketing company. The company collects, analyzes and sells customer and business information used for targeted advertising campaigns. The company was formed in 2018 when Acxi ...

Gartner Gartner, Inc is a technological research and consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut that conducts research on technology and shares this research both through private consulting as well as executive programs and conferences. Its client ...

Misys Finastra is a financial software company headquartered in London, England.Omnicare Omnicare is an American company working in the health care industry. It was established in April 1981 as a spinoff of healthcare businesses from Chemed and W. R. Grace and Company. It is currently a pharmacy specializing in nursing homes. In 20 ...

, and the

Sara Lee Corporation The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. It had operations in more than 40 countries and sold its products in over 180 countries. Its international operations were headquartered in Utrec ...

. He serves on the board of directors of the

Willis Group Willis Group Holdings plc was a multinational risk advisor, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage company with its headquarters in the Willis Building in London until its merger of equals with financial services company Towers Watson i ...

. In September 2015, he was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors of 21st Century Fox. 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. U ...

. 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. He serves on the Boards of Trustees of Northwestern University and the American Conservatory Theater. 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