Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg is the CEO of Facebook, which he founded in 2004. Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, families and coworkers. Mark is responsible for setting the overall direction and product strategy for the company. He leads the design of Facebook's service and development of its core technology and infrastructure. Mark attended Harvard University and studied computer science before moving the company to Palo Alto, California.

Marc Andreessen is Chairman and co-founder of Opsware Inc., the leading provider of data center automation software. Marc is widely recognized for his role in launching the Internet revolution in 1993, with his creation of the Mosaic browser while at the University of Illinois. After graduation, Marc co-founded Netscape Communications, and played a critical role in the company's hypergrowth. Andreessen later became CTO of AOL when the company purchased Netscape in 1999. As one of the technology icons of our time, Marc has received numerous accolades, was named one of the "Top 50 people under the age of 40" by Time Magazine in 1994, and graced the magazine's cover in 1996. With Mosaic and the Netscape browser, Marc's ideas created a platform that enabled individuals to access the Internet. Similarly, today Opsware is enabling businesses to take advantage of the massive business opportunities created by the web and new web-based architectures.

Paul Madera was a founder of Meritech in 1999 and currently focuses on the storage, semiconductor and digital consumer sectors. He has been directly involved with Riverbed Technology, Corvis Corporation, 2Wire, PeopleSupport, Salesforce.com, and IntraLase, Inc. Prior to Meritech, Paul was Managing Director and Head of the Private Equity Group at Montgomery Securities/Banc of America. He began his career in finance as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York. Before joining Morgan Stanley, he served in the United States Air Force as an F-16 Instructor Pilot and a member of the Air Force Liaison Office and representative to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. Paul holds a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Peter Thiel was co-founder of PayPal, which he later sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Two years later, he became Facebook’s first outside investor, investing $500,000. It is estimated that his net worth is now about $1.2 billion. At the age of 40, Peter Thiel, is one of the wealthiest people in the United States. This self-made billionaire was also a child chess prodigy. He ranked seventh in the United States at age 12. He spent time at Credit Suisse before founding Thiel Capital Management in 1996. Renamed Clarium Capital Management 2002; firm now manages more than $5 billion in assets. Cofounded PayPal in 1998, sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Launched venture capital Founders Fund in 2005 with $50 million. He sits on board of Palantir, a computer analysis firm for goverment agencies. Peter enjoys running, hiking, surfing.