William R. Hearst III

William R. Hearst III is chairman of the board of Hearst, one of the nation’s largest diversified media and information companies. Hearst is a grandson of company founder William Randolph Hearst.

The company’s major interests include magazine, newspaper and business publishing, cable networks, television and radio broadcasting, digital businesses, TV production and distribution, newspaper features distribution, business information and real estate.

William Hearst has been a director of Hearst for more than 30 years and is a testamentary trustee under the will of William Randolph Hearst. He is president of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and director of the Hearst Foundation, having been actively engaged in the charitable activities and programs of the Hearst Foundations for the last 20 years.

Hearst is also a partner emeritus at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Prior to joining KPCB in 1995, he served for 10 years as editor and publisher of the San Francisco Examiner, which was then owned by Hearst. Hearst began his career with the Examiner in 1972 as a reporter and assistant city editor. He moved on to Outside magazine but subsequently rejoined Hearst, first at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and later as vice president of Hearst Cable Communications.

In addition to the board of directors of Hearst, he serves on the boards of numerous organizations, including Carnegie Institution for Science, University High School, FORA.tv and the San Francisco Film Society. Hearst is a 1972 graduate of Harvard University, holding a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He has remained active in the field of mathematics with the Mathematical Science Research Institute and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hearst has recently been appointed an associate in mathematics by the Department of Mathematics at Harvard University.