Steve Westly is a Managing Partner of The Westly Group, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. Prior to founding The Westly Group, he served as the Controller and CFO of the state of California – the world’s 7th largest economy. As Controller, he chaired the State Lands Commission and served on 63 other boards and commissions, including CalPERS and CalSTRS, the nation’s two largest public pension funds. During his four-year term, Westly spearheaded innovative tax programs that helped close the State’s budget deficit and also led an effort to commit more than $1 billion to clean technology investments. Before running for office, Westly helped guide the online auction company eBay through its period of most rapid growth, serving as the Senior Vice President of Marketing, Business Development, M&A and International. He taught on the faculty at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business for five years.