Venture Capitalist George Still Jr. to be Pitt-Bradford Commencement Speaker

Bradford native and venture capitalist George J. Still Jr. will address the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford graduating class of 2013 at the April commencement ceremony.

Still, who is the son of Zenaide Still of Bradford and the late Dr. George Still, will deliver the keynote address during commencement exercises at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, in the KOA Arena of the Sport and Fitness Center.

“Students at undergraduate colleges rarely gain personal exposure to individuals who are clearly at the top of their game in the business world,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford. “What makes Mr. Still so special and unique is his willingness to dedicate time, energy and resources to worthy causes in this country and throughout the world. That wonderful combination of boundless success and humanitarian spirit makes him the ideal role model for our students.”

Still was born and raised in Bradford and graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 1980. Following his graduation, he moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in finance. Still joined Ernst and Whinney (now Ernst & Young) and completed a Master of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

He then joined the Centennial Venture Funds in Denver, where he began his career in venture capital investing, or investing in new businesses carrying high risk. In 1989, Still joined Northwest Venture Partners, where he became a managing partner in 1994. Over the last 20 years, NVP has grown into a globally renowned private equity firm with offices in California, New York, Israel and India.

During his 29-year tenure in venture capital, Still has directly led investments in 45 early stage private companies. He was the sole venture investor in PeopleSoft Inc., a human resource management system, and served on the company’s board of directors for more than 10 years. PeopleSoft grew from a start-up to a Standard & Poor’s 500-listed company that was subsequently acquired for more than $10 billion.

Still currently serves on the board of directors of two public companies, Rackspace Holding Inc. and Workday Inc., and has also served on the boards of directors of numerous private and other public companies. In addition to his role as a venture investor, Still was a co-founder of three companies: PeopleMan Inc., Verio Inc. and Web.com Group Inc. Forbes Magazine named him one of the nation’s top venture capital investors on its Midas List.

For more than 25 years, Still has been active at the Tuck School as a guest lecturer, member of the dean’s advisory council and as a member of the board of advisors of the Tuck Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship. He also serves on the board of directors and board committees of KnowledgeBeat, a nonprofit focusing on children’s health in rural Zambia; The First Tee of San Francisco, a youth development program; and the Lucille Packard Foundation for Children’s Health in Palo Alto, Calif. Still is a former member of the board of directors of the National Venture Capital Association in Washington, D.C., and the Stanford Business School Venture Capital Trust at Stanford University.

He is married to Elizabeth Van Brocklin Still and lives in Atherton, Calif., where the couple has four children ages 18 through 23. Still is an avid golfer and enjoys fly-fishing and hunting.