Bill Draper

William Henry Draper III was a pioneering Silicon Valley venture capitalist who co-founded Draper & Johnson Investment Company and later founded Sutter Hill Ventures. He served as president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States under President Reagan and as administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 1986 to 1993. He was best known for early investments in companies including Activision, Skype, and OpenTable, and for establishing the first venture capital firm on the West Coast with his father, Draper, Gaither & Anderson, in 1959. He passed away on September 8, 2026, at the age of 98.