As founder and chairman of the Skoll Foundation, the Skoll Global Threats Fund, Participant Media, and the Capricorn Investment Group, Jeff Skoll is bringing life to his vision of a sustainable world of peace and prosperity.
As the first full-time employee and first President of eBay, Jeff developed the company’s inaugural business plan and led its successful initial public offering. eBay has since become the world’s largest on-line marketplace, giving hundreds of millions of buyers and sellers the opportunity to connect and become successful online entrepreneurs.
After pioneering the creation of the eBay Foundation, Jeff founded the Skoll Foundation in 1999.
Over the last 15 years, Jeff has created an innovative portfolio of philanthropic and commercial enterprises, each a distinctive social catalyst. Together, these organizations drive social impact by investing in a range of efforts that integrate powerful stories and data with entrepreneurial approaches.
Jeff holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2012. Jeff’s other honors include the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy (2017), Jefferson Award’s S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen (2015), a career tribute at the Gotham Independent Film Awards (2012), and the John W. Gardner Leadership Award (2012).
Jeff Skoll was the 2012 recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award. Learn more about Jeff Skoll.