How Green Was My (Silicon) Valley

01 Jun 2010

How Green Was My (Silicon) Valley

Re: John Doerr (MBA 1976)

Topics: Energy-Energy Conservation Governance-Policy Government and Politics-Federal Government

“A boyish billionaire in glasses,” John Doerr (MBA ’76) began to shift his focus from bits and bytes to batteries and biofuels about four years ago, according to Time magazine (March 15, 2010). Doerr, one of the corporate leaders President Obama says he most admires, has become an influential policy and economic adviser to the Obama administration. He has contributed to the campaigns of Obama and other politicians, and some observers have noted that green energy companies and technologies in which Doerr’s VC firm, Kleiner Perkins, has invested have received government tax credits, contracts, and loan guarantees.

But Doerr distinguishes himself from past practitioners of the energy influence game in Washington. “I have referred to prior energy policies as really the sum of all lobbyists,” he said. “My lesson about policy is not to argue about your self-interest. Make an argument that is bigger, about jobs or competitiveness, and you are going to change some minds.”

Featured Alumni

John Doerr

MBA 1976

Featured Alumni

John Doerr

MBA 1976

Stories Featuring John Doerr

- 12 Dec 2022
- Worth
HBS Alumni Named to 2022 Worthy 100

Re: Mike Bloomberg (MBA 1966); Jane Fraser (MBA 1994); Alice Vilma (MBA 2007); John Doerr (MBA 1976); Lara Hodgson (MBA 1998); Xiao Wang (MBA 2014)
- 09 Mar 2010
- Wisconsin Public Radio
Leading the Green Tech Revolution

Re: John Doerr (MBA 1976)
- 22 Oct 2009
- Alumni Stories
Investing in Clean Energy

Re: John Doerr (MBA 1976); By: John Doerr, MBA '76

Stories

Stories