Early Life
William F. Chisholm Jr. grew up in Georgetown, Massachusetts. He attended Brooks School, where he excelled in academics and athletics, playing basketball, lacrosse, and soccer. He led the soccer team to its first Class A New England Prep championship and won The Boston Globe's All-Scholastic award for soccer. He graduated from Brooks in 1987. He furthered his education at Dartmouth College, where he played soccer and was a member of the Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity, graduating in 1991. He earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1996.
Rise to Success
After graduating from Dartmouth, Chisholm began his career as an analyst at PaineWebber in New York. He later served as the chief financial officer of International Sports Publishing and worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company. In 2000, he joined Symphony Technology Group (Symphony), a venture capital firm, as a partner. In 2002, he co-founded Symphony Technology Group (STG) alongside technology entrepreneur Romesh Wadhwani. STG, based in Menlo Park, California, focuses on investments in enterprise software, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. Chisholm became the firm's managing partner and chief investment officer, taking full leadership in 2017. Under his leadership, STG has become a significant player in private equity, managing approximately $12 billion in assets as of March 2025.
Key Business Strategies
Chisholm's primary business strategy revolves around identifying and investing in promising technology companies. STG focuses on acquiring underperforming or undervalued tech firms, helping them to scale through operational improvements and strategic integration. He takes a hands-on approach to the day-to-day management of STG companies, acting as a sounding board on a variety of issues. He has led many STG investments, including the acquisition and combination of McAfee Enterprise and FireEye to create Trellix.
Philanthropy
Chisholm, along with his wife Kimberly, are significantly involved with Breakthrough T1D, a research and advocacy organization for Type 1 diabetes.