David L. Lee
Encyclopedia
David Li Lee is a Taiwanese-American business executive and venture capitalist, best known as a co-founder of Global Crossing Ltd.
Lee is a graduate of McGill University
. He received a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Caltech
in 1974, with a minor in economics. His thesis work was on alternative theories of gravity to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity; he is co-author of the Lightman
-Lee and Lee-Lightman
-Ni
theories of gravity (see Alternatives to General Relativity
).
Lee, also a certified public accountant, started his business career at Arthur Andersen & Co.
in Los Angeles in 1975. In 1981, he joined a company that was acquired by the satellite communications firm Comsat, where he held a variety of executive positions before joining TRW
Information Systems Group in 1986. At TRW, he was group vice president of finance and acquisitions.
Lee left TRW in late 1989 to join Pacific Capital Group, where he facilitated the firm’s expansion into the telecommunications industry. He co-founded the transcontinental telecommunications firm Global Crossing
in 1997 and served as its president and chief operating officer until early 2000, when he left to launch Clarity Partners with Barry Porter, Steve Rader and R. Rudolph Reinfrank.
In 1999 Lee donated $10 million to Caltech to fund a virtual center in advanced networking, also making a similar donation to Chiao-Tung University, in Taiwan, to fund a sister program. He is chairman of the board of overseers of the University of Southern California
medical school, and a trustee of the J. Paul Getty Trust
and the California Institute of Technology
.
Global Crossing
Global Crossing Limited was a telecommunications company that provides computer networking services worldwide. It maintained a large backbone and offered transit and peering links, VPN, leased lines, audio and video conferencing, long distance telephone, managed services, dialup, colocation and...
Lee is a graduate of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. He received a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Caltech
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in 1974, with a minor in economics. His thesis work was on alternative theories of gravity to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity; he is co-author of the Lightman
Alan Lightman
Alan Lightman is an American physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of the international bestseller Einstein's Dreams. He was the first professor at MIT to receive a joint appointment in the sciences and the...
-Lee and Lee-Lightman
Alan Lightman
Alan Lightman is an American physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of the international bestseller Einstein's Dreams. He was the first professor at MIT to receive a joint appointment in the sciences and the...
-Ni
Wei-Tou Ni
Ni Wei-Tou is a Taiwanese physicist, who graduated from the Department of Physics of National Taiwan University , and got his PhD of Physics & Mathematics from California Institute of Technology...
theories of gravity (see Alternatives to General Relativity
Alternatives to general relativity
Alternatives to general relativity are physical theories that attempt to describe the phenomena of gravitation in competition to Einstein's theory of general relativity.There have been many different attempts at constructing an ideal theory of gravity...
).
Lee, also a certified public accountant, started his business career at Arthur Andersen & Co.
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five" accounting firms among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations...
in Los Angeles in 1975. In 1981, he joined a company that was acquired by the satellite communications firm Comsat, where he held a variety of executive positions before joining TRW
TRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
Information Systems Group in 1986. At TRW, he was group vice president of finance and acquisitions.
Lee left TRW in late 1989 to join Pacific Capital Group, where he facilitated the firm’s expansion into the telecommunications industry. He co-founded the transcontinental telecommunications firm Global Crossing
Global Crossing
Global Crossing Limited was a telecommunications company that provides computer networking services worldwide. It maintained a large backbone and offered transit and peering links, VPN, leased lines, audio and video conferencing, long distance telephone, managed services, dialup, colocation and...
in 1997 and served as its president and chief operating officer until early 2000, when he left to launch Clarity Partners with Barry Porter, Steve Rader and R. Rudolph Reinfrank.
In 1999 Lee donated $10 million to Caltech to fund a virtual center in advanced networking, also making a similar donation to Chiao-Tung University, in Taiwan, to fund a sister program. He is chairman of the board of overseers of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
medical school, and a trustee of the J. Paul Getty Trust
J. Paul Getty Trust
The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution with an estimated endowment in April 2009 of $US 4.2 billion. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations, the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Pacific...
and the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
.
External links
- Forbes.com, profile of David Lee
- Annette Moore, "David Lee Elected to USC Board" USC News (February 15, 2007)
- California Institute of Technology, Lee Center for Advanced Networking, "David Lee"