Jeff Skoll

Founder and Chairman, Skoll Foundation
Founder and Chairman, Participant Media
Founder and Chairman, Skoll Global Threats Fund

Jeff Skoll is a philanthropist and social entrepreneur. As founder and chairman of the Skoll Foundation, Participant Media and the Skoll Global Threats Fund, he is bringing life to his vision of a sustainable, peaceful and prosperous world.

Jeff received a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto. He later earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and then harnessed his skills as the first President of eBay, developing the company's inaugural business plan and leading its successful initial public offering.  He also pioneered creation of the eBay Foundation through the allocation of pre-IPO shares.

In 1999, Jeff launched the Skoll Foundation. It quickly became the world’s largest foundation for social entrepreneurship, driving large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems. Its flagship program, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, currently honors and supports 74 leading social entrepreneurs representing 61 organizations from around the world. The Skoll Foundation also co-produces with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School at Oxford the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

Jeff founded Participant Media in 2004 with the belief that a story well told has the power to inspire and compel social change. In addition to entertaining audiences, Participant’s films are accompanied by social action and advocacy campaigns to engage people on the issues addressed in the films. Jeff has served as Executive Producer on 25 films to date, which have collectively received a total of 3 Academy Awards® and 15 nominations. Participant's films include, among others, Good Night, and Good Luck, North Country, Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth, The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, The Visitor, The Informant!, The Soloist, The Cove and Food, Inc. In 2008, Participant launched TakePart.com to create an on-line community for people to learn, inspire, connect and get involved in the very issues that shape our world.

Jeff’s recent honors include Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People (2006), Wired Magazine's Rave Award (2006), Business Week’s list of most innovative philanthropists, and, in 2009, the Producers Guild of America’s Visionary Award and Global Green USA’s Entertainment Industry Environmental Leadership Award. Jeff also holds two honorary doctorates.

Speeches and Editorials by Jeff Skoll