The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

James Wei, venture capitalist and co-founder Worldview Technology Partners, has joined The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii’s Board of Trustees. .

Wei pioneered the model of integrating business development with venture capital. He help co-found Worldview in 1996 and has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs in over 100 start ups.

“James Wei is a highly accomplished businessman and an enthusiastic conservationist,” said Suzanne Case, the Conservancy’s Hawai‘i executive director. “He is an avid diver and sailor who values the environment and understands the contribution it makes to our economy and quality of life in Hawai‘i. We look forward to the many ways he can contribute to our mission.”

A venture capitalist since 1991, Wei has led successful investments into companies such as 3Par, AFC, C- Cube Microsystems, Catena Networks, CIENA, Cogent Communications, Corvis, MMC Networks, NeoMagic, NVIDIA, Oplink, Silicon Spice, Tellium and Tivoli Systems. Today, he invests primarily in early stage IT, internet and biotech startups.

Prior to co-founding Worldview in 1996, Wei was a fund manager at JAFCO, where he sponsored investments and created Asian business development strategies for U.S. technology companies. Prior to JAFCO, he held engineering and marketing positions at Sony and IBM.

Wei, 42, currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ayudo, Commverge Solutions, Luxim, Ooma, Olympic Century, Stretch, and Tensilica. He is also an advisory board member of biotech startup StemCentRx and serves on the Board of Governors of the Hawaii Community Foundation.

“I am proud to be a part of an organization that has done so much for conservation in Hawai‘i,” Wei said. “I look forward to working with my fellow trustees and the Conservancy’s staff and partners to protect Hawaii’s environment.”

Wei holds a B.S. degree in systems design engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He is fluent in English, Japanese and Mandarin. He and his wife, Makiko Takeuchi Wei, have two children.