Trace Harris
Advisor, T Harris LLC; Board Member, Altair, Ziff Davis, & USA Climbing
Trace Harris is a finance and strategy executive with deep experience in global transactions, partnerships and management for large, industry-leading companies across technology and media. She is an experienced board member of public and private companies, including leading implementation of public company standards in advance of an IPO. Experienced chair of Audit and Compensation committees, active in ESG and M&A committees. Ms. Harris serves as board member, chair of Compensation Committee, member of Audit Committee, and member of M&A Committee for Altair [ALTR], a global tech company that went public in 2017 and which provides software and cloud solutions in data analytics, product development & high-performance computing. She led the implementation of public company standards in advance of the successful IPO, particularly as it relates to compensation matters, and is an active member of the Audit Committee. Ms. Harris serves as board member and member of Audit and ESG Committees for Ziff Davis [ZD], a digital media and advanced cloud services company; ZD completed a successful $1 billion spin-out in 2021. Through summer 2022, she was Lead Independent Director and chair of Audit Committee for Bungie, the leading video game developer of the multi-billion dollar franchises of Halo and Destiny. As Lead Independent Director, she was deeply involved in the $3.6 billion sale of Bungie to Sony Corp. Finally, she serves as board member and Audit Committee chairman of USA Climbing, the national governing body of the sport of competition climbing, which made its Olympic debut at Tokyo in 2021; at USAC, she focusses on driving membership and revenue opportunities. Most recently as its senior executive in the US for strategy, finance and M&A, Ms. Harris’ professional experience includes over a decade with Vivendi, a Paris-based global media company. At Vivendi, she was a board representative to many of its subsidiaries and joint ventures, including Universal Music Group, NBC Universal, and University Ventures. She executed over $30 billion in multi-national acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures, and was a lead on all NBC Universal-related matters from its formation in 2002 through its sale. She was previously SVP of strategic development for Universal Studios Television Group, where she developed and implemented international television strategies, as well as launched its first international television network in France. Prior to Universal Television, she held positions with Warner Bros., and she started her career at JP Morgan in New York. Ms. Harris received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and her MBA from Yale School of Management, concentrating in Finance. She lives in New York with her husband and energetic dog, Thor.