James Higa

Founder & Managing Partner, Offline Ventures

James was born in Indiana, grew up in Okinawa, educated in Palo Alto, and has a long and storied career in Silicon Valley. He reported directly to Steve Jobs at Apple, working to change the face of entire technology and consumer industries. He was a member of the original Macintosh team, and his work negotiating and launching iTunes changed music forever. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Offline Ventures. His early stage investments include companies like Slack, Notion, and Blue Bottle Coffee, XMPT, and Pinata. Companies worldwide from UNIQLO, Fast Retailing, Airbnb, Siemens, and Lawson have sought his counsel as an advisor. James received his AB ’81 in Political Science from Stanford University. He serves on the boards of the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources Advisory Council, and Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. His previous board work includes the Recording Academy GRAMMY MusiCares Foundation, U.S.-Japan Council, and the Haas Center for Public Service.