Pierre

"It was Pierre who became the active tutor for the four people who have since played leadership roles for Sequoia in the private markets business in the United States – Doug, Roelof, Jim (on whose startup board he sat), and myself. That was fine with Don since his own training program consisted of seeing whether people could swim in the deep-end of the pool. He would say to newcomers, ‘You can attend partners meeting, but we don’t want to hear you unless we ask you a question.’"

"Pierre, who preferred not to draw attention to himself, was quite content playing second fiddle."

"While Don channeled his own formative influences, Pierre contained strains of his countrymen Fourier and Robespierre. Don would brood silently, was rarely, if ever, profane, and operated – unless matters were grave – with an open office door. Pierre, who occupied an adjoining office, was more of a firecracker and preferred his door closed."

"As investors, Don and Pierre reflected their circumstances. Don was drawn to companies addressing large markets and, though he admired idiosyncratic engineers, was not particularly interested in understanding the technical particulars. Pierre, on the other hand, liked deeply technical undertakings and was less comfortable investing where, at the outset, he did not detect a pronounced technology advantage. At one point, while we were trying to invest in biotech companies, both Don and Pierre attended weekly evening classes at Stanford. At the end of the class it was Pierre, not Don, who would linger behind to grill the professor about an obscure detail of the lecture."

"Behind this door, since Pierre disapproved of Don’s interior decorating skills, were an elegant oval table, Eames chairs' and a pair of black-and-white, abstract paintings by Robert Motherwell. Pierre was always immaculately attired, believing that to be well-dressed was ‘a competitive advantage,’ and whenever Don appeared in one of his more garish outfits, Pierre would announce, ‘I see you got dressed in the dark.’"

"Among the people who reported to Pierre was Andy Grove, who attended the classes Pierre gave on transistor electronics to all new recruits. Grove joined Intel on the day of its formation and he subsequently helped build it into the most important semiconductor company in the world."

"After graduation Pierre was drafted and spent three years in the French army (an experience that taught him ‘not to volunteer for anything’) where he translated for high-ranking officers at nato headquarters (then located just outside Paris) and used his spare time to advance his knowledge of the physics of transistors."

"was. It is true that conversely, Pierre will be led to take care of Bernard's personal affairs, especially after the failure of his first marriage, at a time when LVMH leaders will suffer from the mix of his private and professional life."

"Raskob’s total dedication to the DuPont Company won him Pierre’s love; his consistently successful fi nancial strategies earned him the trust and respect of the rest of the men who ran the nation’s largest explosives company. So when Raskob decided in 1915 that the sputt ering new General Motors Company represented the greatest fi nancial opportunity he had ever seen, Pierre and the rest of the DuPont men agreed to do what John recommended. Over time, Raskob wagered tens of millions of DuPont money, representing a sizable portion of the extraordinary profi ts the company had accrued from selling its deadly wares during the Great War, to fi nance the General Motors Company. Without DuPont’s massive infusion of capital, General Motors could not have survived. As the business press of the era reported, it was Raskob, and Raskob alone, who brought the DuPont millions to GM."