Secrets Of Silicon Valley Intrigue Revealed In Colin Powell's Hacked Emails
Included: Complaints about gender bias at Salesforce, Kleiner Perkins’s Christmas card, and failed attempts at dinner with Mark Zuckerberg.
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. Throughout the 11 years he’s been in the private sector, he’s straddled the worlds of government and technology, advising future administrations on military issues and consulting with top venture capitalists on what high-tech startups to invest in. His Gmail account from 2014 to August 2016 is full of correspondence with top investors, leading politicians and government officials, and former military colleagues. Among the most revealing moments are Powell’s efforts to avoid running into Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser thrown for her by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, an internal study in which some Salesforce employees complained about gender bias at the company, Powell’s efforts to get Kleiner Perkins to improve its diversity in the wake of the Ellen Pao lawsuit, and Powell’s strenuous efforts to get AOL cofounder Steve Case into one of world’s most exclusive and powerful social clubs.
How To Avoid Hillary Clinton Just six days after Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server was first revealed in a story on the front page of the New York Times on March 2, 2015, Benioff invited Powell to a small dinner he was hosting at his home for Clinton. He excitedly told Powell, “I’m sure she would be thrilled to say hello to you!” Benioff intended to raise about $500,000 for the Clinton Foundation, which he thinks “does very good work in the world.” Powell immediately forwarded the invite to his personal assistant with a laughing emoji.