Jack Hidary

Jack Hidary
Personal details
Political party	Independent
Religion	Judaism
Website	Campaign website

Jack Hidary is a technology and financial entrepreneur who lives In New York City. He is the chairman of Samba Energy and was the co-founder of EarthWeb/Dice, Inc. and Vista Research. He also co-founded the Auto X Prize and was one of the architects for the Cash for Clunkers program. Hidary was a 2013 New York City mayoral candidate running as an independent.

Business career

• EarthWeb/Dice Inc.: In 1995, Jack Hidary co-founded the IT information portal EarthWeb with his brother Murray Hidary and entrepreneur Nova Spivack.^[1] In 1997, they brought on Tristan Louis, who helped them launch developer.com,^[2] a pivot that culminated in Earthweb's 1998 IPO and one of the largest first-day returns in NASDAQ history.^[3] In 1999, under Hidary's leadership, EarthWeb acquired the tech career website Dice.com. In 2000, EarthWeb was renamed as Dice Inc. and taken private.^[4] In 2005, Dice Inc. was sold to the private equity firms Quadrangle and General Atlantic Partners for approximately US$200 million.^[5]

• Vista Research: Hidary co-founded Vista Research in 2001 as an independent financial research company serving institutional investors, drawing on experts in the fields of technology, media, telecommunications, energy, aerospace and healthcare.^[6] Vista Research was acquired in 2005 by the Standard & Poor’s division of McGraw-Hill.^[7]

• Samba Energy: Hidary is currently the Chairman for Samba Energy, a provider of software and services for clean energy and commercial building energy efficiency.^[8]

Social and policy initiatives

Jack Hidary has been a vocal proponent of renewable energy and an expert in transportation technology and policy. He is a trustee of the X Prize Foundation and the co-founder of the Auto X Prize, which inspired the development of highly fuel-efficient vehicles. He is also on the advisory board of the NREL.

In 2008, Hidary helped design the Cash for Clunkers program,^[9] a $3 billion program that provided economic incentives for people to trade in older, less-efficient vehicles for newer, more fuel efficient ones.

Hidary has served as a partner or trustee for numerous New York City groups, including the Partnership for New York City, the Citizens Budget Commission and the Association for a Better New York. He is also a founding member of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).^[10]

Politics

On July 17, 2013, Hidary announced his intent to run as an independent in a self-created line called the Jobs and Education Party for New York City Mayor and succeed Michael Bloomberg.^[11][12] The New York Times described his political leanings as "socially progressive, fiscally reserved, and digitally savvy," and his primary goals are to better education, foster small business growth and spur employment across all boroughs, and attract companies and investment to New York. One of his primary initiatives is to increase productivity by wiring all of the city’s schools, businesses and neighborhoods for broadband Internet service.^[13] Another focus is to increase the number of tech incubators and shared workspaces across the city. His main focus is establishing employment for citizens and controlled spending.^[14]

On November 5, Jack Hidary lost to Bill de Blasio in the Mayoral Election. Joe Lhota finished second.^[15]

Personal

Hidary was born at Brookdale Hospital in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn to a Syrian Jewish family.^[16] His great-grandparents came to Ellis Island as immigrants, living in the Lower East Side tenements. He is the eldest of four brothers and one sister. He serves on several boards including the advisory council for the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and Google X Labs. He is also on the board of the X Prize Foundation.^[17]

Education

Hidary studied philosophy and neuroscience at Columbia University and was awarded a Stanley Fellowship in Clinical Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health.^[18]

References

1. Michael Intergaard (2004). Silicon Alley: the Rise and Fall of a New Media District (Psychology Press) Page 63.
2. At NewYork Staff, April 11, 1997 Earthweb shifts gears, turns publisher
3. David Lazarus (1998-11-11), “Net Stock Frenzy Goes Flat,” Wired. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
4. (2001-04-17). “EarthWeb Inc. to Become Dice Inc. – Nasdaq Ticker Symbol to Become ‘DICE’,” PRNewsire. Retrieved 2010-10-05
5. "Dice Acquired by Private Equity Firms". Paid Content Rafat Ali Jul. 13, 2005.
6. (2001-09-10). “Vista Research: Security Spending Continues to Increase but Companies Cannibalize IT Budgets to Pay the Bill,” PRNewswire. Retrieved: 2010-10-05
7. (2005-03-14). “S&P gets on independent research bandwagon with Vista acquisition,” Electronic Information Report. Highbeam Business. Retrieved 2010-10-05
8. "About".
9. "Transcript: Cash For Clunkers 2.0". Forbes'. Archived from the original on 2013-07-23.
10. "Web Entrepreneur Jack Hidary Makes NYC Mayoral Run". Bloomberg.com'.
11. "Executive With Eye on Bloomberg’s Mantle". The New York Times.
12. "A la Bloomberg, entrepreneur Jack Hidary exploring mayoral bid". Gotham Schools.
13. "About Jack". jack4nyc.com'.
14. "Dot-Com Entrepreneur Jack Hidary to Run for New York Mayor". 'The Wall Street Journal'.
15. "New York Election Results: Bill De Blasio Defeats Joe Lhota In Mayoral Race". Huffington Post.
16. The Jewish Daily Forward: "Jack Hidary's Longshot Bid for New York Mayor Divides Syrian Jews" By Josh Nathan-Kazis July 25, 2013
17. "Getting To Know Jack". jackfornyc.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
18. "Jack Hidary". Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

External links

• JackForNYC.com Official campaign information