Jack D. Hidary has built his career as an entrepreneur in the finance and technology sectors. He is currently chairman of iAmplify, an online company selling downloadable audio and video content.
Prior to co-founding iAmplify, Hidary co-founded Vista Research in 2001 as an independent financial research company serving institutional investors. Jack sold Vista to the Standard & Poor's division of McGraw-Hill in April of 2005. Hidary also co-founded and served as President and CEO of EarthWeb. During this time he raised three private rounds of equity and completed a record breaking initial public offering. Under Hidary's leadership, EarthWeb earned the prestigious Business Week Info Tech 100 award as the third fastest growing IT Company.
Committed to community and philanthropic causes, Hidary has received several industry and community awards as well as being recognized as a Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, Davos. Hidary is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a founding member of the Clinton Global Initiative.
In recent years Hidary has been particularly involved in issues of energy and transportation. He sits on the advisory board for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and is founder of the Freedom Prize Initiative, which will provide monetary prizes to cities, auto companies, and fleets that can most reduce their petroleum use through energy efficiency and low-emissions alternative fuels. In New York City, Hidary was a leading proponent of incorporating hybrid vehicles into the city's taxi fleet, which will comprise entirely low-emissions vehicles by 2012.
Hidary studied philosophy and neuroscience at Columbia University and was then awarded a Stanley Fellowship in Clinical Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Under the fellowship, Hidary conducted research in functional neuroimaging using techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to study brain and disease states.
Hidary is an active private investor and a limited partner of Redpoint Ventures and the Prism Fund. A frequent keynote speaker, Hidary has presented at venues including the business schools at Yale, Harvard and Columbia.
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JOSH BECKER - Director
Josh most recently ran Corporate Development at Agile Software (AGIL), a leading provider of Product Lifecycle Management solutions for companies like Dell Inc, Flextronics International, Hitachi, Johnson & Johnson and Lockheed Martin. He oversaw major partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate strategy. Prior to Agile, Josh was at Redpoint Ventures where he focused on software and wireless investments. Previous employment includes Brentwood Venture Capital, Netscape Communications, and McKinsey & Co. He was the 2nd employee at EarthWeb Inc., a start up that went public in 1998.
In Washington, D.C., Josh started a successful technology consulting firm and was one of the youngest Press Secretaries on Capitol Hill. He holds a B.A. from Williams College, an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a J.D. from the Stanford Law School. At Stanford he co-founded the Board Fellows Program, which now matches almost 15% of GSB students each year with Boards of non-profit organizations. He also ran a year long initiative on technology and social change.
Josh is the founder of The Full Circle Fund, an alliance of emerging business leaders who help solve public problems through engaged philanthropy and public policy advocacy. Full Circle has been instrumental in securing money for affordable housing in Silicon Valley, creating new charter schools in California, supporting pioneering technology workforce development organizations, helping homeless families transition back to independence and now is working within the San Francisco public school system to create new small schools. Josh also serves on the Board of Directors for One Economy and on the Board of Trustees for UC Merced.
San Jose Business Journal named Josh as one of the Top 40/under 40 people to watch in Silicon Valley.
