About the Lester Center
The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is an internationally recognized program and the primary locus at Berkeley for the study and promotion of entrepreneurship and new enterprise development. For more information, please read our pdf brochure.
The Lester Center is supported and advised by a distinguished faculty and advisory board.
The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation was founded in 1991 through a gift from W. Howard Lester, Chairman of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
The Lester Center:
- fosters teaching of successful entrepreneurship and innovation,
- encourages Berkeley students in the creation of new businesses,
- creates and disseminates knowledge on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance to the business and university communities,
- facilitates interaction between the entrepreneurial community and the university,
- seeks collaborations and partnerships in support of its goals.
The center's constituency beyond the university consists of the founders, owners, and managers of innovative and high-growth companies, their investors and advisers, and young entrepreneurs. Within the university, it is an interdisciplinary, campuswide research center with public programs designed to be a resource to the campus and beyond. Over the years, students and faculty, especially those in business, engineering, computer science, law, and the biosciences, have led in developing the center's programs.
 |
 |
Faculty Director |
Executive Director David Charron |
W. Howard Lester
Howard spent the first 20 years of his career in the software industry. He began selling computers in 1958 and soon left to form a computer services company at the age of 25. He later sold his company to a larger company in Los Angeles. Five years later, he bought another software firm, Centurex, which became the major provider of software to commercial banks. After selling the company in 1976, he “retired”, only to purchase Williams-Sonoma a short time later.
In 1978 Williams-Sonoma was a very small four million dollar annual sales company. Today it approaches three billion dollars in sales, with multiple brands serving the home, including Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen, Hold Everything, Chambers and West Elm.
Howard served as CEO from 1978 until 2001. He continues to serve as Chairman.
He presently serves on the Board of Directors of Harold’s Stores, Inc. and is on the Executive Council of UCSF. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the Retail Management Institute of Santa Clara University and the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1991, Mr. Lester endowed The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Haas School.
He has served on many industry and philanthropic boards during his career including International Association of Shopping Centers, the Retail Institute of Santa Clara University, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Boy Scouts of America and is a national trustee of 1st Tee.
Howard was born and raised in Oklahoma and attended the University of Oklahoma. He was elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2001.
August 2003
[top of page]
