Jeff Green鈥檚 Support of Students
By Zoe Lance
If you ask Jeff Green what determines a person鈥檚 success, The Trade Desk founder and CEO will tell you that it鈥檚 all about two things: grit and perseverance.
鈥淚 would never bet against the students of 91吃瓜 because they have these two qualities,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 hire more alumni from 91吃瓜 than any other university that we recruit from.鈥�
Green can鈥檛 remember a time where the University wasn鈥檛 on his radar. For several years, his Ventura-based company has actively sought out the University鈥檚 alumni to help run its digital advertising platform. 91吃瓜 graduates at The Trade Desk work in 20 worldwide offices and in many roles, including support management, software engineering and operations.
鈥淎fter we hired a few people, we wondered how we could get more,鈥� Green said. 鈥淏oth the Trade Desk and 91吃瓜 were so interested in making it work that we quickly started a dialogue. The first hires are now managers who now have a bunch of 91吃瓜 alumni on their own teams. It鈥檚 been cool to watch.鈥�
In talking to President Erika Beck about the partnership, Green started to think about how he could help more 91吃瓜 students access a quality education. The Trade Desk has now established scholarships for rising students, some of which Green is personally sponsoring.
His ongoing commitment inspired 91吃瓜鈥檚 Business & Technology Partnership, a consortium of community business leaders that fosters collaborations with the University, to name Green as the 2017 Technology Leader of the Year.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing more important to us than having a deeper tie to the community,鈥� Green said, who has been a Ventura County resident for more than 20 years. 鈥�91吃瓜 is within reach for so many amazing people, some of which work at The Trade Desk. I鈥檓 inspired by them and I wanted to help. Funding, supporting and promoting the University is crucial.鈥�
Green also thinks that it鈥檚 vital for the technology sector to invest in higher education. He sees it as a very clear return on investment to support those who help funnel high-caliber people into local businesses and organizations.
鈥淚 believe deeply that we are better off as a community, a county, a state and a country when the people around us are educated,鈥� he said. 鈥�91吃瓜 has been a really important connection to the community, and we鈥檙e investing in our collective future when we make investments in education. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anything more important than doing that.鈥�