Last year, the New York Times characterized venture capitalist Jim Breyer as a “director with “irons in so many fires.”
He’ll have two fewer irons soon. According to separate SEC filings, Breyer will not run for re-election this year on either the board of Facebook, where he has been a director since 2005, or on the board of Wal-Mart, whose board he joined in 2000. Both companies hold their annual meetings in June.
Breyer issued a statement regarding his decision not to stand for re-election to the board of Facebook, news he shared with the company on Tuesday, according to the regulatory filing. Said Breyer in the statement: “It has been a genuine honor to serve as an investor and board member since April 2005 as Facebook has grown from an emerging social network for U.S. college students to a global service that connects over a billion people. After over eight years of board service, it’s time to step aside in light of my other responsibilities, including my recent election to the Harvard University Corporation Board. I will leave the board knowing that Facebook is a global Internet leader with exceptional leadership within the company and on the board.”
Meanwhile, Forbes, which reported that Breyer will leave his seat on the board of Wal-Mart in June, says the retail giant has issued its own statement regarding Breyer: “After more than a decade serving Walmart shareholders, Mr. Breyer will rotate off the board in accordance with our corporate governance guidelines. We thank Mr. Breyer for his years of dedicated service.”
Breyer, a Harvard Business School alum, joined Harvard Corp., Harvard University’s governing body, in February. Breyer was at the Harvard Innovation Lab on Friday, according to his most recent Facebook status update.
If Breyer’s board involvements will be lighter two months from now, they remain considerable. Breyer still sits on several boards, including that of Harvard Corp. His other board seats include:
- Dell Computer, a post he was named to in 2009;
- News Corp., whose board he joined in 2011;
- Brightcove, a now publicly traded video-hosting services company whose Series A round Accel led in 2005;
- Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade and vintage items (Breyer joined in 2008, when the firm led a $27 million D round in the company);
- Model N, a publicly traded company that makes revenue management software for enterprises (founded in 1999, the company was backed by Accel-KKR, a partnership between KKR & and Accel Partners);
- and Hollywood production studio Legendary Entertainment, in which Breyer is a personal investor, alongside Accel. He joined that company’s board in 2011.
Image: Photo courtesy of Accel Partners
