Ambassador Douglas T. Hickey ’77, Commissioner General of the USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, will receive an honorary degree and address this year’s graduates during Siena’s Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 15 at 10 a.m. at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany.
As Commissioner General of the United States’ delegation for the most recent World’s Fair, Hickey oversaw the development of a dynamic exhibit that showcased America’s food story and sparked a global conversation about the challenges of feeding the planet.
Prior to his appointment in Italy, Hickey served as President and CEO of San Francisco-based BinWise Inc., the leading provider of analytics to premier restaurant, hotel and entertainment groups around the world. He previously worked as Managing Partner of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital firms, for more than 10 years. Prior to Hummer Winblad, Hickey was CEO of Critical Path, the leading provider of messaging services to corporations around the globe.
Hickey served as President and CEO of Global Center, which became one of the first and largest providers of advanced web hosting and content distribution on the Internet. After selling Global Center to Frontier Communications in 1998, he was named president of Frontier Global Center and Executive Vice President of Frontier Communications Corporation. Ultimately, the combined operation was successfully sold to Global Crossing.
His work in the public sector included serving as Northern California’s Finance Co-Chair on Secretary Kerry’s Presidential campaign. He was also a member of the National Finance Committee for President Obama’s campaign in 2008 and 2012, as well as Co-Chair of the California Finance Committee.
Hickey has carried Siena’s Franciscan values and teachings with him throughout his life, working tirelessly on behalf of the poor in the Catholic Diocese of San Francisco.
Recognized as a “Builder of Siena,” Hickey became one of the principal donors to the College’s Values and Visions Capital Campaign in 2000 by creating the Douglas T. Hickey ‘77 Chair in Business. His philanthropy to Siena includes making the lead gift to the Douglas T. Hickey ’77 Technology Center, home of the Will Raub Trading Room. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Siena in 1977 and is currently on the boards of Siena, BinWise, and Plug Power Inc. (NSDQ PLUG).
In recognition of his lifetime of exemplary exemplary achievement, leadership, and service in the public, private, and non-profit sectors of our society, Siena will present Hickey the honorary degree, Doctor of Humanities.
