George Kadifa Elected as New Caltech Trustee

George Kadifa is a co-founder and managing director of Sumeru Equity Partners. He has four decades of operating experience in the technology sector. Prior to joining Sumeru in 2015, Kadifa was executive vice president at Hewlett-Packard, reporting to the CEO, and a member of the executive committee. While at HP, Kadifa's responsibilities included leading growth initiatives and alliance programs with key partners, service providers, and the largest clients, along with leading the HP software business.

Kadifa previously served as operating partner at Silver Lake, a global technology investment firm. There, he was responsible for driving growth and operational improvement in a wide range of enterprises within the portfolio of the firm's large-cap investment fund.

Kadifa has significant expertise in building and managing technology businesses. He has held leadership positions at technology and management-consulting companies, including IBM; Corio Corporation, which he founded; Oracle; Booz Allen Hamilton; Xerox PARC; and Fairchild. He holds a BS in electrical engineering from the American University in Beirut, an MS in electrical engineering from Caltech, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Here, he discusses his career accomplishments, interests, and his connection to Caltech.

What have you learned during your career that you think others should know?

Listen 10 times more than you talk.

What was the most fun you had in your career?

I enjoyed building a start-up from scratch, selling it for $1 billion six years later, and continuing to make it grow afterwards.

What words to you live by?

Dare mighty things.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Road cycling and being with family and friends.

How did you become interested in Caltech?

It was on my list of top universities to apply to.