Ann Becker

Summary

I was a leading executive search consultant, recruiting management teams and boards of directors for high tech startups in Silicon Valley, for nearly thirty years beginning in 1982. Now I serve on boards and write. Most recently, I was President of Board Search Partners LLC, the only search firm specializing in recruiting boards of directors for public and private high technology companies. There I pioneered a strategic approach to board recruiting, versus the then-prevalent “old boys network” approach. I was SVP, Recruiting and Human Capital Partner at Highland Capital Partners, a leading venture capital firm headquartered in the Boston Area, for whom I opened a West Coast office. Prior to Highland Capital, I was a Partner from 1990 to 2000 with Schweichler Associates, a leading retained high-tech search firm serving Silicon Valley, now known as SPMB. Earlier in my career, I was a Vice President with David Powell Associates, a leading retained high-tech search firm. What does a recruiter do in retirement? Organizations seeking to grow find me. From 1/2018 to 7/2/2024, I was member of the Board of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation, on which I served as Chair of the Board Nominating Committee, member of the Executive Committee, member of the Finance & Admin Committee, member of the Governance Committee, and member of the Racial Justice Task Force. Until January 2024, I served for eight years on the board of the Kent Woodlands Property Owners Association, a neighborhood association of 400+ homes. I was elected President and served three years in that normally two-year role. I had previously served as Vice President and Secretary, and founded the Fire Safety Committee. I serve on the County-appointed Community Advisory Group (CAG) for Project Homekey, and formerly served on the County-appointed Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the now-completed Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Rehabilitation Project. I am a Trustee and member of the Grants Committee for the Becker Charitable Trust [www.beckertrust.org] which was founded by my father-in-law, and which has now surpassed $100 million in grant making. I was President of Woodland Sponsors, an all-woman educational and philanthropic organization of women who live in Kent Woodlands. Finally, I'm a freelance writer whose “Resident Feature” columns appear in Kentfield&Ross Living Magazine. In them I profile residents who are contributing to the community in meaningful ways.