Jeffrey Williams Ubben (born 19 july 1961, Illinois[1]) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman of ValueAct Capital, a hedge fund based in San Francisco, California. Ubben is an activist board member of Exxon Mobil.[2][3]
Early life
Jeffrey W. Ubben graduated from Duke University.[4] He received a master of business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1987.[4][5]
Business career
Ubben managed the Fidelity Value Fund at Fidelity Investments for eight years. He was the Managing Partner of Blum Capital from 1995 to 2000.[4]
Ubben is the co-founder of ValueAct Capital, a hedge fund based in San Francisco, California, in 2000.[4][5]
Ubben formerly was on the Boards of Directors of Acxiom, Gartner, Misys, Omnicare, and the Sara Lee Corporation. He is on the board of directors of the Willis Group.[6] In September 2015, he was nominated to the Board of Directors of 21st Century Fox.[7][8]
In August 2015, Ubben acquired a minority stake in the United Talent Agency.[9]
In June 2020, Ubben left ValueAct Capital.[10]
Board memberships
Ubben is chair emeritus of the national Board of Directors of the Posse Foundation.[11] He is on the Boards of Trustees of Northwestern University and the American Conservatory Theater.[12][13] Ubben is also on the board of directors of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation.[14] In September, 2019, it was announced that Jeff Ubben and his wife Laurie "have made an estate commitment of $50 million to support scholarships for undergraduate, graduate and professional school students" at Northwestern University, the largest donation towards financial aid in the university's history.[15]
References
- Wayback Machine www.bayer.com, retrieved 2026-03-24^
- Exxon considering to add activist investor Jeff Ubben to board thechronicleherald^
- Michael Angelakis and Jeffrey Ubben Join ExxonMobil Board of Directors finance.yahoo.com^
- Company Overview of ValueAct Capital Partners, L.P.: Jeffrey Williams Ubben Bloomberg Business, retrieved October 26, 2015^
- Rachel Farell. Alumni Profiles: Jeff Ubben '87 Kellogg School of Management, retrieved October 26, 2015^
- Board of Directors About Willis, retrieved October 26, 2015^
- Keach Hagey, David Benoit. Fox Nominates ValueAct CEO Jeffrey Ubben to Board: Ubben says Netflix's industry impact is catalyst for 'fundamental change in strategy' The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2015, retrieved October 25, 2015^
- Brent Lang. 21st Century Fox Taps Investor Jeffrey Ubben to Join Board Variety, September 29, 2015, retrieved October 25, 2015^
- Brooks Barnes. Jeffrey Ubben Buys Minority Stake in United Talent Agency The New York Times, August 20, 2015, retrieved October 26, 2015^
- Pippa Stevens. Jeff Ubben tells the FT he is leaving ValueAct for social investing: 'Finance is, like, done' CNBC, 23 June 2020, retrieved 16 September 2020^
- Posse Board of Directors retrieved May 29, 2018^
- Trustees Northwestern University, retrieved October 26, 2015^
- Board of Trustees American Conservatory Theater, retrieved October 26, 2015^
- E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation » Management Team retrieved 2019-06-10^
- Northwestern Receives Largest Gift to Financial Aid in Its History September 12, 2019, retrieved 23 September 2019^