Jack Gill

Jack M. Gill, PhD is the founder of Palo Alto-based Vanguard Ventures, a high-tech venture capital firm managing over $500 million. Throughout his career, Dr Gill has achieved success in five different careers as a scientist, entrepreneur, corporate executive, venture capitalist, and university professor. He has 20 years of experience teaching entrepreneurship courses in science, engineering and medicine at Stanford, Harvard Medical School, MIT and Rice University.

Dr Gill founded Vanguard Ventures in 1981 which successes created over $70 billion in market value, over 25,000 jobs and returned over $1 billion to investors. Vanguard ranks among the nation’s leading high-tech VC firms and has been the lead investor in over 100 medical devices, biotech, telecom and computer-internet related companies. As of 2015, all partners have retired.

Successful companies include Aldus, Network Appliance, Ciena, Cobalt Networks, Digital Island, Advanced Fiber Communications, Endosonics, Endotherapeutics, Light Speed, Digital Microwave, Pyramid Computers and Hansen Medical.

In 1999, Dr Gill received the prestigious Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans. He served as Trustee at Indiana University and on the Boards of the National Academies, Project Hope, the Horatio Alger Association, The Texas Emerging Technology Fund and several non-profits.

Together with his wife Linda Gill, Dr Gill established the Gill Foundation of Texas in 1997, which focuses on educational philanthropy.  Gifts to date for scholarships, chairs, professorships, and endowment of 7 Centers of Excellence exceed $40 million.

Dr Gill earned a Chemistry and Engineering degree from Lamar University in 1958 and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Indiana University in 1963.

Dr Gill is retired, but still is an active super angel investor in Houston, TX.