Since joining the board of Fiat Lux Foundation in 2013, Rob served the organization with dedication and enthusiasm. His participation in our monthly conference calls was instrumental in helping our physician-partners make important business decisions. The ultimate success of the Kisii Eye Hospital is due in part to Rob's guidance and business savvy.
Rob graduated from U.C. Berkeley with an Economics degree. He then worked for IBM and Accenture before going to Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA in 1993. He excelled as a venture capitalist, first at Commonwealth Capital Ventures, and for fifteen years as Managing Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. Rob's illustrious career included five citations on Forbes Magazine's "Midas List" of top venture capitalists as well as being named Forbes Magazine's "Most Thoughtful Investor" in 2011. In all, Rob served on the board of directors of over 45 public and private companies. His skill and intuition for investment always produced incredible returns, but what mattered to Rob most was supporting companies, ideas, and people that improved society for all.
Besides his work for the Fiat Lux Foundation, Rob generously donated his time to numerous organizations including the Berkeley Endowment Management Company (Chairman), Menlo School (President of the Board of Trustees), the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Harvard Business School Dean's Advisors. Perhaps no professional endeavor brought more joy to Rob than teaching. He began as a Lecturer at Berkeley's Haas Business School in 2013 and quickly gained a reputation as an elite teacher. His most memorable moment as a professor was when his students gave him a standing ovation at the end of his first semester. He twice won the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching and was named a Distinguished Teaching Fellow. His classes on investing and entrepreneurship were so popular, students had to compete for coveted spots.
Throughout his life, Rob valued love, experience, and adventure over the material and viewed service to others as the ultimate aspiration. Rob was a warm, wise, and generous man who consistently put other people's needs before his own. His insatiable curiosity about people and his belief that one good idea can change the world made him an incredible colleague, mentor, and friend. He was a great listener and had a knack for making people feel special and valued. His natural empathy and humility made him beloved by the countless friends, colleagues, and students who came to him for advice on their careers and lives. Rob left us too soon, but his lesson and legacy provide us all an example of how to truly live. We are all blessed and better for knowing him.
In Memoriam: Rob Chandra