Steven A. Denning was a founding leader of General Atlantic, joining as the firm’s second investment professional and serving as CEO from 1995 to 2007 and as Chairman Emeritus beginning in 2021. Steve helped shape General Atlantic from its earliest days with a singular conviction: that the best investing is done in genuine partnership with entrepreneurs. His mission was to back exceptional management teams building high-growth businesses and to help them scale into market leaders. Over more than four decades, he was central to building General Atlantic into one of the world’s leading growth investing firms. Beyond General Atlantic, Steve served on the Board of Trustees of Stanford University from 2004 to 2017, including as Chairman from 2012 to 2017. Earlier in his career, he worked at McKinsey & Company and served six years as an officer in the U.S. Navy.
Education
Georgia Institute of Technology, B.S., Industrial Management
Naval Postgraduate School, M.S., Management Science
Stanford Graduate School of Business, M.B.A.
Community Involvement
American Museum of Natural History
Blue Meridian Partners, Inc.
Bridgespan Group
Brookings Institution
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
College Advising Corps
Columbia Climate
Georgia Tech Foundation
Markle Foundation
National Park Foundation
New York Regional Plan Association
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute
Stanford University’s Global Advisory Council to the President
Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Stanford University's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
Stanford University’s Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program
Stanford University’s Natural Capital Advisory Council
Stanford University’s Online Teaching and Learning Program