James Attwood


James Albert Attwood Jr. is an American businessman. He serves as a managing director of The Carlyle Group and chairman of Nielsen Holdings PLC. He is a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and EVP of Verizon Communications. He was a major donor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

Education

Attwood graduated summa cum laude from Yale University where he earned a BA in Applied Mathematics and a MA in Statistics in 1980. He then attended Harvard University, and earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1984.

Career

Attwood started his career as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs, where he worked in New York City and Tokyo for eleven years. He subsequently served as the Executive Vice President for Strategy, Development and Planning for Verizon Communications and the GTE Corporation for four years. He joined The Carlyle Group in 2000, where he is a managing director and formerly served as Head of the Global Telecommunications, Media, and Technology Group and Managing Director through 2017.
Attwood joined the board of directors of Nielsen Holdings in 2006 and was appointed its chairman in 2016. He has served on the board of directors of CoreSite since September 2010. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors of Syniverse.
Attwood joined the Dean's Advisory Board for Harvard Law School in 2000. He currently serves as chair of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York.

Political activity

Attwood donated to Correct the Record, a Super PAC which supports Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. He also donated to Priorities USA Action, another pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC, in 2016, as well as to the Hillary Victory Fund and Hillary for America.

Personal life

Attwood and his wife, Leslie Kim Williams, met at Harvard Law School, where they both graduated in the class of 1984. They have one daughter, Samantha Kim Attwood. They reside in Bedford Hills, New York and Martha's Vineyard.