Former Yahoo! head named distinguished entrepreneur

Mallett

Jeff Mallett, former president and chief operating officer of Internet media giant Yahoo! Inc. and part-owner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, has won the first Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the faculty of business.

The annual award acknowledges an inspirational entrepreneur who has had a significant and positive impact on the global community through his or her business leadership.

"Jeff captures the spirit of what entrepreneurship is all about, and what we are trying to teach our students," says David Schneider, chair of the faculty's board of advisors. "His innovation and leadership inspire his peers and future leaders."
Mallett owns Vineyard Knolls Golf Club, a private, nine-hole U.S. Gold Association member golf course in Napa, California, as well as an independent vineyard growing world-class chardonnay and pinot noir grapes for local Napa wineries.

Born in Vancouver, Mallett grew up in Victoria and attended UVic on a soccer scholarship where he was an all-Canadian and member of the national finalist team in 1982. He participated as a member of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer team program for two years.

Nominations for the UVic Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award were considered by a five-person panel made up of members of the faculty of business' board of advisors. It was chaired by Peter Gustavson, president and CEO of Custom House Global Currency. The panel reviewed nominations based on a set of criteria including vision, entrepreneurial drive, and impact on the Canadian and global economies.

Mallett was presented with the award at a ceremony on May 6 at the Victoria Conference Centre.