Warren Hellman, American investor, founder of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals, died from complications from leukemia treatment he was 77.

F. Warren Hellman was a private equity investor and co-founder of Hellman & Friedman, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm died from complications from leukemia treatment he was 77..^[1] Hellman also co-founded Hellman, Ferri Investment Associates, today known as Matrix Partners. He started and funded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. Hellman died on December 18, 2011 of complications from his treatment for leukemia.^[2]

^{(July 25, 1934 – December 18, 2011)} 

Career

Hellman co-founded Hellman & Friedman in 1984 with Tully Friedman and served as chairman of the firm as well as a member of the Firm's Investment and Compensation Committees.
Before H&F, Hellman was a founding partner of Hellman, Ferri Investment Associates which would later be renamed Matrix Management Company. Today, Matrix is among the most prominent venture capital firms in the U.S.
Before that, Hellman worked in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, where he served as President as well as head of the Investment Banking Division and Chairman of Lehman Corporation.
Hellman received his undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley and he received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Family history

Though his fortune was largely self-made, Hellman was the great-grandson of Isaias W. Hellman, a prominent early California banker (President of Wells Fargo Bank), philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California.^[3] Isaias' Hellman's sister-in-law was married to Mayer Lehman, one of the founders of Lehman Brothers. His mother, the former Ruth Koshland, was a successful California wool merchant. His family is not connected to the Hellmann’s mayonnaise company.^[4]

Other affiliations

Hellman was the primary sponsor and provided funding for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.^[5][6][7] In 2011, Speedway Meadow was renamed Hellman Hollow to honor his history of philanthropy and civic involvement in San Francisco.^[8]
Hellman was a donor and supporter of Jewish Vocational Services (JVS), a nonprofit organization that helps people transform their lives through work.
Hellman was a Director of D.N.& E. Walter & Co. and Sugar Bowl Corporation. He was also a member of the advisory board of the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. In 2005, Hellman was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Hellman was the Chairman of the Board of The Bay Citizen, a non-profit news organization focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Citizen was founded with a $5 million contribution from the Hellman Family Foundation.^[9]
Hellman was the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Mills College from 1982-1992, and as a result of protests reversed the college's decision to go co-ed in 1990.^[10]
He formerly served as a Director of numerous portfolio companies, including Eller Media Company, Nasdaq Stock Market and Young & Rubicam.
Hellman served in the U.S. Army from 1955 through 1957.
Warren Hellman was honored by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in December 2011. Speedway Meadow, the location of his festival Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, has been officially renamed "Hellman Hollow". He endowed the festival to continue for at least 15 years past his death.^[11]

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