Longtime UCLA Anderson Board of Advisors member Elizabeth Wood Knapp has passed away. On Wednesday, June 28, 2017, Dean Judy Olian made the following announcement:
Dear UCLA Anderson Community:
It is with great sadness that I share news of the passing of UCLA Anderson Board of Advisors (BOA) member Betsy Wood Knapp.
Betsy, beloved wife of fellow BOA member Bud Knapp, was an entrepreneur, angel investor, protector of the environment and passionate philanthropist. Betsy managed to make a difference in everything she touched, and UCLA Anderson was among the organizations that were lucky enough to attract her engagement.
She started her career working at the Sloan School of Management at MIT, a role that soon led her to the nascent computer industry. Betsy was a founding member and then president of Telmar Communications Corp., a New York City-based company that pioneered online interactive computer access to consumer behavior databases and decision support systems for the media and advertising industries. Later, she founded and ran BigPicture Investors LLC, which provides investment capital, management expertise and consulting to startup and early-stage companies.
As a member of the BOA and the board’s executive committee and as a benefactor to UCLA Anderson, Betsy left an indelible mark on our school and community. She drew on her wisdom and deep integrity to advise deans and mentor faculty throughout her many years of engagement with the school. In addition to serving on the BOA, she is a founder of Entrepreneurs Hall and with her husband Bud, endowed the annual Knapp Venture Competition, which has become a cornerstone of the Price Center’s entrepreneurial offerings. For decades, Betsy and Bud have presided over the Knapp Competition awards ceremony, personifying philanthropy and inspiring generations of Anderson entrepreneurs.
Betsy also made a lifelong commitment to the advancement of women. In 2010, Betsy established UCLA Anderson’s KICK (Knapp, Innovation, Creativity & Knowledge) Conference for Women, which brought together business leaders and prominent academics to share their personal experiences in harnessing creativity and innovation to achieve their goals. The event confirmed the need for a women’s business conference and laid the groundwork for Anderson’s very successful annual Velocity Women’s Leadership Summit.
Even though Betsy wasn’t a Bruin, she lived as if she were. She was the first woman to chair the UCLA Foundation, which manages private donations and promotes philanthropy for the benefit of UCLA. She served on numerous UCLA committees, and as a board member of UCLA’s Technology Development Corporation. She also established the Betsy Wood Knapp Professorship in Innovation and Creativity, a position that was held by UCLA Anderson Professor Aimee Drolet Rossi.
Betsy was very active at her alma mater, Wellesley College, where as a trustee emerita she served as co-chair of a record-setting $400 million comprehensive campaign, as a generous philanthropist and as a founder of the Wellesley Business Leadership Council. She was a founding member of the Committee of 200, an association of successful women entrepreneurs and corporate executives. She also served as an officer of the Knapp Foundation, which makes grants in the fields of education, medicine and the arts.
Betsy and Bud’s most recent passion was developing and managing the Knapp Ranch, their home near Vail, Colorado, with a mission to grow organic food while protecting the health of the land and environment for future generations. Already, the Knapp Ranch is supplying produce to local restaurants and markets. This new venture was so typical of Betsy — envisioning something consequential, and finding innovative solutions that challenge convention. Conversations with Betsy were always stimulating; she was a font of knowledge about new technological and scientific developments while always thirsting to learn something new.
What a remarkable and full life Betsy lived, one with such positive impact for so many. Bud and Betsy were inseparable partners. Let us remember our dear friend, Betsy Wood Knapp, and the many ways she touched us. Our hearts go out to Bud for his tremendous loss.
Dean Judy Olian
Your stories and tributes can be shared at www.elizabethwoodknapp.co.
