Jack D. Hidary built his career as an entrepreneur in the finance and technology sectors and is a leading expert on innovation across several industries.
In 1995, Jack co-founded and served as President and CEO of EarthWeb/Dice. He raised three private rounds of equity and completed a record breaking IPO and secondary for a total raise of $150+ million. Under his leadership, EarthWeb/Dice earned the prestigious BusinessWeek Info Tech 100 award. Dice is the leading IT job board today and is listed on the NYSE as DHX.
Jack is the founder and Chairman of Samba Energy, the leading marketplace for commercial solar projects and financing. Samba’s marketplace has driven down the cost of commercial solar and thus increased the ROI for companies using the market for their solar programs.
Today, Jack is particularly involved in issues of energy and transportation. He is the co-founder of the $10 million Auto X Prize (www.xprize.org) which challenged competitors for a 100 mpg car that can be manufactured at scale. The first X Prize of $10 million was awarded to Paul Allen’s team for reaching space with no government support. Jack serves on the board of trustees of the X Prize.
Committed to community and philanthropic causes, he has received several industry and community awards as well as being recognized as a Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, Davos. He is also a founding member of the Clinton Global Initiative.
He serves on several boards including the advisory council for the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). Jack is chairman of the National Lab Network, an educational partnership including the Gates Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and leading companies committed to improved science education.
Jack 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, he 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.
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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.
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MICHAEL HIDARY - Board Member
Michael Hidary is the investment advisor to the Hidary Family Office and Foundation. He is responsible for creating deal flow and analyzing the potential for such deals to become part of the Hidary family portfolio.
Since joining Gemstone, Hidary has been advising hedge funds on various issues from HR and infrastructure to investor relations.
Hidary serves on the boards of RenewPAC, the renewable industry’s political association in Washington, DC and of SmartTransportation.org, an advocacy group dedicated to clean tech transport solutions.
Hidary also serves on the boards of The Sephardic Community Federation which advocates for its community of 75,000 members and of Barkai Yeshivah, an emerging private school in Brooklyn with over 300 studentS.
Prior to Gemstone, Hidary was the VP of Sales for the family’s importing business for 8 years where he built out many divisions and grew revenues across different channels of distribution.
Hidary attended Bar-Ilan University in Tel-Aviv, Israel and Babson College in Wellesley, Massachussettes.
