William E. Ford

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

REGION United States

OFFICE LOCATION Miami
New York

Bill Ford is the Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic, a leading global growth investor. General Atlantic pioneered the growth equity asset class and has invested over $60 billion in more than 525 growth companies since its inception in 1980.

Mr. Ford joined General Atlantic in 1991 and became CEO in 2007. Mr. Ford was appointed Chairman of the firm in 2021. Under his leadership, General Atlantic has expanded its global presence to 20 countries; has grown the firm’s assets under management to approximately $97 billion today; and has broadened its investing platform to include Growth Equity, Credit, Climate, and Sustainable Infrastructure strategies.

Mr. Ford currently serves on the boards of BlackRock, ByteDance, and Sierra Space. He has formerly served on the boards of First Republic Bank, NYSE Euronext, E*Trade, Priceline, and NYMEX Holdings.

He is involved with several educational and not-for-profit organizations including The Rockefeller University, where he serves as Chairman of the board of trustees; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; the Council on Foreign Relations; Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management; and the Simons Foundation. Mr. Ford also serves on the board of the National Committee on US-China Relations.

He received his BA from Amherst College and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to joining General Atlantic, Mr. Ford was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley & Company.

Current Board Affiliations

Sierra Space, Board Member
BlackRock, Board Member

Historical Board Affiliations

Tory Burch, Board Member
Lincoln Center, Board Member

Education

Amherst College, B.A., Economics
Stanford Graduate School of Business, M.B.A.

Community Involvement

The Business Council, Member
The CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, Steering Committee Member
Council on Foreign Relations, Member
Global Private Capital Association (GPCA), Board Member
McKinsey Advisory Council, Board Member
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Board Member
National Committee on US-China Relations, Board Director
New York State Life Science Advisory Board, Board Member
Partnership for New York City, Executive Committee
Rockefeller University, Chair
Simons Foundation, Board Member
Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management, Advisory Board Member