Jim Leslie
Investor
Jim Leslie is an angel investor and advisor to executives of early- and mid- stage companies. He has been the CEO of three firms. Each company achieved significant scale and was sold to a Fortune 500 company, providing sizable returns for his investors. He has negotiated two university technology transfers; one for software and the other for material sciences IP. Jim actively invests in startups focused on transformative IP in energy, AI, environmental, and cleantech markets.
Jim was the CEO of Flipgrid from its inception in 2015 to its sale to Microsoft in 2018. He was the CEO of Midwave Corporation from 1999 to its acquisition by Datalink in 2011. He was the President of OPM Information Systems until its sale to Inacom in 1998.
Jim serves on the board of Claros Technologies, a material sciences company dedicated to destruction of PFAS, the “forever chemical” that is one of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges. Jim is also on the board of Origina, LTD, an independent software support organization empowering major corporations across the globe to preserve and protect their investments in legacy software.
Jim was the recipient of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2005 and the Titans of Technology Award in 2015.
Jim and his wife, Norma, founded the Jim & Norma Leslie Family Foundation in 1998. The Foundation’s efforts are targeted at lifting families out of poverty through educational, healthcare, and food and shelter grants.
