David Bohnett

Joined the amfAR board in December 2006. Expertise in technology and information services. Was honored with amfAR’s Award of Courage at the 2006 Honoring with Pride benefit. For more than 25 years has been an advocate of advancements in HIV research and treatment and of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

Mr. Bohnett has a B.S. in business administration from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Michigan. He founded GeoCities, an Internet-based media and e-commerce company that was cited as one of the top four most trafficked websites. He pioneered the concept of providing free homepages to web users and has been named the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Technology Leader of the Year and, by Ernst & Young, the Entrepreneur of the Year for Southern California. He has also been recognized as one of Upside magazine’s Elite 100 and of Newsweek’s 100 People to Watch in the Next Millennium.

As chair of the nonprofit David Bohnett Foundation, he has focused the organization’s grant making on projects and programs to improve society through social activism, including support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans service organizations. In 2012, he was appointed by President Obama to the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is also a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and serves on the board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.

Chair, David Bohnett Foundation; Head, Baroda Ventures. He maintains residences in Los Angeles, CA, and New York.