Bill Neukom
Encyclopedia
William Horlick "Bill" Neukom is currently the managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants
baseball
team ownership group. Although he has only held this position since October 2008, it has been reported that he will be stepping down on December 31, 2011. Prior to holding this position, he was President of the American Bar Association
in 2007-08. He was the principal legal counsel for Microsoft
for almost 25 years. He was also the Chairman of the Gates law firm in Seattle, now part of K&L Gates.
. He was living in the Bay Area when the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958. He graduated from Capuchino High School
in 1960, although the San Mateo High School Alumni Book lists him as a 1959 graduate from that school.
from Dartmouth College
in 1964. Between 1996 and 2007, Neukom was a member of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College
and he served as chair of the board from 2004 to 2007. Three of his children have attended Dartmouth. He is the founding donor of The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College, which is dedicated to advancing computing resources and applications in multiple aspects of the Dartmouth curriculum.
from Stanford Law School
in 1967. In 2006 Neukom committed to a gift of $20 million for the planned construction of a new academic building at Stanford's law school. This building is planned to be built on the Stanford campus on the site previously occupied by the Kresge Auditorium.
for Judge Theodore S. Turner of the King County
Superior Court in Seattle in the years 1967-68 .
By 1977, he had joined the Seattle law firm Shilder, McBroom, Gates & Lucas (later Preston Gates & Ellis). Mr. Neukom's relationship with Microsoft began in 1978 when managing partner Bill Gates Sr. asked him to advise his son's fledgling software business. Neukom started doing legal work for Microsoft when the company had just 12 employees. He would continue to be Microsoft's lead legal counsel for nearly 25 years.
Mr. Neukom joined Microsoft
as an employee in 1985 and thereafter built its corporate law department from an initial staff of five to more than 600 attorneys and support personnel. He became an Executive Vice President at Microsoft. He spent 17 years as Microsoft's general counsel and chief legal officer, managing the company's legal, governmental affairs and philanthropic activities.
He was actively involved in legally defending Microsoft's intellectual property rights around the world, most notably in Apple v. Microsoft. He also was involved in defending Microsoft from a series of complex antitrust suits (i.e. United States v. Microsoft
). While at Microsoft, Mr. Neukom also directed the company's community affairs program, which initiated corporate-giving programs including the Microsoft Giving Campaign, the Microsoft Matching Gifts Program, and the Microsoft Volunteer Program. In 2002 Neukom retired from Microsoft as Executive Vice President, Law & Corporate Affairs.
After Microsoft, Mr. Neukom returned to Preston Gates & Ellis as a partner in the firm's business law practice. In January 2004 he was named chair of that firm. In 2007 Preston Gates & Ellis merged with Kirkpatrick and Lockhart of Pittsburgh to form the large law firm now named K&L Gates. Mr. Neukom no longer is affiliated with the firm.
Neukom served as president of the American Bar Association for a one year term from August 2007 to August 2008.
. The World Justice Project
works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law
for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.
, who retired at the end of the 2008 season at the age of 66. Neukom and other investors purchased a portion of Peter Magowan's ownership interest in the team. Neukom has become the lead active investor of the team following the reduction of Magowan's ownership interest, the death of Harmon Burns (a leading investor who died in 2006) and the death of Sue Burns
, who died in 2009.
On September 14, 2011, Bill Neukom announced he was retiring as the Managing General Partner and CEO of the San Francisco Giants effective January 1, 2012, at which point he will be succeeded by Larry Baer
. Sources have indicated Neukom was forced out due to differences in the ownership group on how to divide up the surplus money earned after the Giants won the 2010 World Series
.
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team ownership group. Although he has only held this position since October 2008, it has been reported that he will be stepping down on December 31, 2011. Prior to holding this position, he was President of the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
in 2007-08. He was the principal legal counsel for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
for almost 25 years. He was also the Chairman of the Gates law firm in Seattle, now part of K&L Gates.
Youth and educational ties
Mr. Neukom was born in 1942 and was raised in the Bay Area community of San Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
. He was living in the Bay Area when the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958. He graduated from Capuchino High School
Capuchino High School
Capuchino High School is a public high school in San Bruno, California, although the school is surrounded by the city of Millbrae on all but one corner...
in 1960, although the San Mateo High School Alumni Book lists him as a 1959 graduate from that school.
Dartmouth
Neukom received an undergraduate degreeUndergraduate degree
An undergraduate degree is a colloquial term for an academic degree taken by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. It is usually offered at an institution of higher education, such as a university...
from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1964. Between 1996 and 2007, Neukom was a member of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College
Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College
The Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College is the governing body of Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. , the Board includes twenty-three people...
and he served as chair of the board from 2004 to 2007. Three of his children have attended Dartmouth. He is the founding donor of The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College, which is dedicated to advancing computing resources and applications in multiple aspects of the Dartmouth curriculum.
Stanford Law
After receiving his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, Neukom returned to the Bay Area where he received a law degreeLaw degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
from Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
in 1967. In 2006 Neukom committed to a gift of $20 million for the planned construction of a new academic building at Stanford's law school. This building is planned to be built on the Stanford campus on the site previously occupied by the Kresge Auditorium.
Legal career and Microsoft
After completing his law degree, Neukom served as a clerkCourt clerk
A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors...
for Judge Theodore S. Turner of the King County
King County, Washington
King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....
Superior Court in Seattle in the years 1967-68 .
By 1977, he had joined the Seattle law firm Shilder, McBroom, Gates & Lucas (later Preston Gates & Ellis). Mr. Neukom's relationship with Microsoft began in 1978 when managing partner Bill Gates Sr. asked him to advise his son's fledgling software business. Neukom started doing legal work for Microsoft when the company had just 12 employees. He would continue to be Microsoft's lead legal counsel for nearly 25 years.
Mr. Neukom joined Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
as an employee in 1985 and thereafter built its corporate law department from an initial staff of five to more than 600 attorneys and support personnel. He became an Executive Vice President at Microsoft. He spent 17 years as Microsoft's general counsel and chief legal officer, managing the company's legal, governmental affairs and philanthropic activities.
He was actively involved in legally defending Microsoft's intellectual property rights around the world, most notably in Apple v. Microsoft. He also was involved in defending Microsoft from a series of complex antitrust suits (i.e. United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
). While at Microsoft, Mr. Neukom also directed the company's community affairs program, which initiated corporate-giving programs including the Microsoft Giving Campaign, the Microsoft Matching Gifts Program, and the Microsoft Volunteer Program. In 2002 Neukom retired from Microsoft as Executive Vice President, Law & Corporate Affairs.
After Microsoft, Mr. Neukom returned to Preston Gates & Ellis as a partner in the firm's business law practice. In January 2004 he was named chair of that firm. In 2007 Preston Gates & Ellis merged with Kirkpatrick and Lockhart of Pittsburgh to form the large law firm now named K&L Gates. Mr. Neukom no longer is affiliated with the firm.
Neukom served as president of the American Bar Association for a one year term from August 2007 to August 2008.
World Justice Project
William H. Neukom is the Founder, President, and CEO of the World Justice ProjectWorld Justice Project
-Mainstreaming:The World Justice Project holds action-oriented meetings with leaders from a range of fields to mainstream rule of law advancement and make strengthening the rule of law as fundamental to the thinking and work of all professionals as it is to lawyers...
. The World Justice Project
World Justice Project
-Mainstreaming:The World Justice Project holds action-oriented meetings with leaders from a range of fields to mainstream rule of law advancement and make strengthening the rule of law as fundamental to the thinking and work of all professionals as it is to lawyers...
works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.
San Francisco Giants
Neukom had been an investor in the Giants since 1995 and on May 16, 2008 was named the new Managing General Partner for the Giants. He succeeded Peter MagowanPeter Magowan
Peter A. Magowan is the former managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball franchise.-Early life and career:...
, who retired at the end of the 2008 season at the age of 66. Neukom and other investors purchased a portion of Peter Magowan's ownership interest in the team. Neukom has become the lead active investor of the team following the reduction of Magowan's ownership interest, the death of Harmon Burns (a leading investor who died in 2006) and the death of Sue Burns
Sue Burns
Sue Burns was an American businesswoman who was the senior general partner of the San Francisco Giants baseball franchise.-Early life:...
, who died in 2009.
On September 14, 2011, Bill Neukom announced he was retiring as the Managing General Partner and CEO of the San Francisco Giants effective January 1, 2012, at which point he will be succeeded by Larry Baer
Larry Baer
Laurence M. Baer is the Chief Operating Officer of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He will succeed Bill Neukom as Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2012.-Career:...
. Sources have indicated Neukom was forced out due to differences in the ownership group on how to divide up the surplus money earned after the Giants won the 2010 World Series
2010 World Series
The 2010 World Series was the 106th occurrence of Major League Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff, played between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion San Francisco Giants, began on Wednesday, , and ended on Monday, , with the Giants...
.
External links
- "Meet Bill Neukom," San Francisco Chronicle, 18 May 2008.
- ABA Website
- Giants Front Office - SF Giants website