The recent hacking of Colin Powell’s email accounts prompted juicy headlines about the former Secretary of State’s dislike of Donald Trump and withering criticism of Hillary and Bill Clinton.
But it has also revealed plenty of inside details and gossip about drama in Silicon Valley through correspondence related to Powell’s role as a board member of Salesforce.com and as a strategic adviser to one of the tech world’s most powerful venture capital firms, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers. And it provided unprecedented insight into the revolving door between government and industry—complete with its perks, insider deals, and extraordinary access.
When he left the Bush Administration in 2005 after serving as the first African-American secretary of state, Powell was perfectly positioned to take advantage of his new life in the private sector. A decorated military hero and politically moderate and well-respected official, he managed to avoid the bulk of the blame for the Iraq War. Just six months after resigning in January 2005, he joined one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins, as a strategic limited partner. Two years later, he joined the board of directors of AOL cofounder Steve Case’s new company, Revolution Health, and in 2014, he joined the board of buddy Marc Benioff’s Salesforce. – READ MORE
