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David Yu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Yu (born 6 November 1967) is an American businessman and investor. He is the former CEO of Internet betting exchange Betfair and an active tech investor.

Education and early career

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Yu studied computer science at UC Berkeley and Stanford.[1] He moved to London from California in 2000 at the behest of his employer Alta Vista.[2]

Betfair

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He became chief technology officer of Betfair in 2001. He was promoted to the position of CEO in January 2006 during a turbulent time for the company that saw the shakeup of the positions of CEO and Chairman with Sir Robert Horton being forced out as Chairman.[3] As an IT enthusiast, Yu's promotion to the helm was unusual.[4] He took the company public on the London Stock Exchange in October 2010.[2] David Yu stood down as CEO and from the Board on 31 December 2011 after a 60% drop in share value in the year after listing and the subsequent appointment of Breon Corcoran as his replacement.

Tech investor

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He is also an early stage tech investor. He was among a group of individual investors and firms that invested seed money in TransferWise (now Wise), a payment transfer company.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "TechRepublic - A Resource for IT Professionals". Silicon.com. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
  2. ^ a b Moules, Jonathan (2011-06-21). "From Silicon Valley to Silicon Britain". FT.com. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
  3. ^ Garrahan, Matthew (2006-01-05). "Horton forced out of Betfair after pressure from investors". FT.com. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
  4. ^ "TechRepublic - A Resource for IT Professionals". Silicon.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
  5. ^ Johnson, Bobbie. "Transferwise unveils Levchin, other superstar backers". Gigaoam. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
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Business positions
Preceded by
Sir Robert Horton (executive chairman)
Chief Executive of Betfair
January 2006 - July 2012
Succeeded by