Brad Gerstner
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Bradley Thomas Gerstner. Born May 4th, 1971. An American entrepreneur, investor, venture capitalist, hedge fund manager, and podcaster. He's the founder, chairman, and CEO of Altimeter Capital. You might know him from the 2022 Forbes Midas List, thanks to his firm's sharp investments in Snowflake and Grab. He also co-hosts BG2Pod, a bi-weekly dive into tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, alongside fellow venture capitalist Bill Gurley. And get this: in 2025, he founded the Invest America Foundation, a driving force behind the Invest America Act, legislation that created $1,000 tax-advantaged investment accounts for every child born between 2025 and 2028.
Born in Goshen, Indiana, to Thomas and Martha Gerstner. He honed his intellect at Wabash College, graduating summa cum laude with degrees in Economics and Political Science, even studying abroad at the University of Oxford. Law school followed at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor, funding his studies with day trading. Post-graduation, he dove into securities law at Ice Miller LLP and served as Deputy Secretary of State of Indiana.
In 1999, he returned to academia, earning an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2000. From there, he was a founding principal at General Catalyst, navigated the startup world in travel, and then managed portfolios at PAR Capital from 2005 to 2008.
Then, in 2008, amidst the financial crisis, Bradley Gerstner launched Altimeter Capital in Boston, Massachusetts, with less than three million dollars from friends and family. Fast forward to January 2016, Gerstner and Altimeter made waves, pushing United Continental Holdings to change its board of directors, and they succeeded. In October 2022, he penned an open letter to Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, advising a cut in staff and metaverse spending – a few weeks later, Meta laid off over 11,000 employees. Later in 2022, he and Altimeter bet on Nvidia, increasing their stake in early 2023 after ChatGPT's debut, predicting an "AI supercycle."
Personally, Bradley Gerstner married Michelle Boyers in 2007, whom he met at Harvard Business School. He's also an amateur pilot.
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Bradley Thomas Gerstner (born May 4, 1971) is an American entrepreneur, investor, venture capitalist, hedge fund manager, and podcaster. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Altimeter Capital. Gerstner appeared on the 2022 Forbes Midas List after his firm's successful investments in Snowflake and Grab. He co-hosts BG2Pod, a bi-weekly podcast on tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, alongside venture capitalist Bill Gurley. In 2025, he founded the Invest America Foundation, which helped advance the Invest America Act—federal legislation that created $1,000 tax-advantaged investment accounts for every child born between 2025 and 2028.
== Early life ==
Gerstner was born on May 4, 1971, in Goshen, a city in Elkhart County, Indiana. His father was Thomas Gerstner and his mother was Martha Burt.
He attended Wabash College from 1989 to 1993 and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science. He also studied abroad at the University of Oxford from 1991 to 1992.
From 1993 to 1996, Gerstner attended Indiana University Maurer School of Law and obtained a Juris Doctor degree. He did day trading to help pay for his law school fees. After graduation he practiced securities law at Ice Miller LLP and served as Deputy Secretary of State of Indiana.
In 1999, Gerstner returned to school and attended Harvard Business School where he graduated in 2000 with a Master of Business Administration degree. After graduating, he was a founding principal of General Catalyst, worked at several travel startups, and later became a Portfolio Manager for PAR Capital from 2005 to 2008.
== Altimeter Capital ==
In 2008, Gerstner founded Altimeter Capital in Boston, Massachusetts. It was launched with less than $3 million from friends and family during the 2008 financial crisis.
In January 2016, Gerstner and the firm fought with United Continental Holdings to change the company's board of directors. United eventually gave in and changed its board.
In October 2022, Gerstner wrote an open letter to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging the company to cut staff and reduce spending on the metaverse. A few weeks later, Meta laid off over 11,000 employees.
In late 2022, Gerstner and Altimeter bought Nvidia shares despite bearish forecasts, later expanding their position in early 2023 after ChatGPT debuted. Gerstner predicted an “AI supercycle.”
== Personal life ==
Gerstner married Michelle Boyers in 2007 at Martha's Vineyard. They met at Harvard Business School. Gerstner is also an amateur pilot.
== References ==
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