Steven Denning

Denning was awarded an honorary degree from Georgia Tech in 2019, when he also gave the university's commencement address. Stanford awarded him the 2018 Ernest C. Arbuckle Award. He was named to GrowthCap's Top 10 Pioneers of Growth Equity in 2014 for his work with General Atlantic and was awarded the Stanford Business School's Excellence in Leadership Award in 2007.

Denning is active at Stanford, serving on the university's Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2017, including as its chair from 2012 to 2017. He also served as co-chair of The Stanford Challenge. He chaired the board's Task Force on Globalization, which later became the Special Committee on Globalization. He served as chair of the Endowment Strategic Review Committee and as chair of the Presidential Advisory Committee on New York. He continues to serve on a variety of advisory boards and councils at Stanford; he is vice chair of the Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence advisory council, chair of the president's global advisory council and the Natural Capital advisory council. He is a member of the advisory council of the Freeman Spogli Institute, the Knight-Hennessy Scholar Program advisory board and the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute advisory council. He has given numerous talks at the university. Denning is involved in other higher education philanthropies as a member of the board of directors of College Advising Corps; he was a trustee of the Georgia Tech Foundation and was a member of the advisory board of Tsinghua School of Economics and Management. He also served on the board of visitors of Columbia College.

Denning co-founded growth equity firm General Atlantic in 1980 as the firm's second investment professional. He served as CEO from 1995 to 2007 when he was appointed chairman. In 2021 he became Chairman Emeritus, succeeded as chairman by current General Atlantic CEO, Bill Ford.

Steven A. Denning (born September 14, 1948) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is Chairman Emeritus of global growth equity firm General Atlantic. Denning has been with General Atlantic since its founding in 1980, leading the firm as CEO from 1995 to 2006 when he assumed the role of chairman. He helped build General Atlantic with a singular vision of supporting entrepreneurs as they work to grow their businesses.