Antonio Gracias

Antonio is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer of Valor. Antonio founded Valor in 1995. He has over twenty years of experience in private equity investing. Antonio served as Lead Independent Director at Tesla Motors from September 2010 until April 2019 and continues to serve as a Director of the company. He is a director of several Valor portfolio companies, including Addepar, Bird Rides, Castle Creek Pharma, Cloud9, Harmony Biosciences, and Space Exploration Technologies.

Antonio is actively involved in philanthropic activities. He is a trustee of The Aspen Institute, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a member of the board of directors of World Business Chicago, a member of the board of visitors of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and a member of the board of visitors of the University of Chicago Law School. Additionally, he is a past member of the board of directors of The Economic Club of Chicago, a past member of the board of directors of Clean Energy Trust, and a past trustee of the Field Museum.

In 2015, Antonio was appointed to the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship Program, chaired by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. The program was a first-of-kind collaboration among the White House, entrepreneurs, the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development partners. He is a 2009 Henry Crown Fellow, an Aspen Institute program designed to engage the next generation of leaders in the challenge of community spirited leadership. In 2008, Antonio received the Immigrant & Refugee Contributions Award for Entrepreneurial & Business Leadership from Changing Worlds, an educational arts non-profit organization.

Prior to founding Valor, Antonio was the Founder and Managing Member of MG Capital where he acquired and acted as CEO for a number of manufacturing and technology related companies. At MG Capital, together with the team that is still together at Valor today, he developed the operational skills that Valor uses to help its portfolio companies achieve scale and enhance their value. Prior to MG Capital he was at Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Antonio holds a joint B.S. and M.S.F.S. (honors degree) in International Finance and Economics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He also studied corporate structures and economic development at Waseda University in Tokyo. Prior to completing his Masters, Antonio returned to Japan as a Nikko Securities Fellow. Antonio holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.