Nat Simons

Nat Simons is the son of James Simons, the founder of Renaissance Technologies, and Barbara Simons, a computer scientist and past president of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Simons attended the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1989, followed by a master's degree in mathematics in 1994.

Simons began his career at Cylink Corp in 1989. From 1994 to 2011, Simons was a principal at Renaissance Technologies, an investment management firm started by his father, James Simons. At Renaissance, Simons worked as a data analyst from 1994 to 1995, then as a futures trader from 1995 to 1997. In 1997, Simons began the Meritage family of funds, which was spun off from Renaissance. Simons has served as a board member and vice-chair at Renaissance,and as senior managing director and chairman of Meritage Group.

In 2009, Simons co-founded Prelude Ventures, a cleantech venture fund. In that same year, he was listed #20 on Fortune’s World’s Top 25 Eco-Innovators. In 2015, Simons and his wife, Laura Baxter-Simons, joined the Breakthrough Energy Coalition. The coalition is a partnership of individuals who have pledged to invest in new energy technologies.

In 2006, Simons co-founded Sea Change Foundation, focused on climate change and clean energy policy. In 2009, Simons spoke along with Bill Clinton and Al Gore at the National Clean Energy Project roundtable. In discussing philanthropy’s role in combatting climate change, Simons stated, “I think the role of philanthropy is more than anything to just facilitate the process. There are many different stakeholders, and they all have to be brought together. The grid is perhaps the best example we can think of where there are many disparate interests. And to get it done quickly is going to take a herculean effort from all sides.” Nat Simons has been on the board of the Exploratorium and a member of the UC Berkeley board of visitors. Simons and his family have supported UC Berkeley, including SERC and the Berkeley Tsinghua Joint Research Center on Energy and Climate Change. In May 2017, Simons and Laura Baxter-Simons signed The Giving Pledge, a foundation created by Bill Gates where individuals pledge to donate the majority of their wealth.

Simons is married to Laura Baxter-Simons, and they have two children.Baxter-Simons is the daughter of former California Supreme Court Justice, Marvin Baxter, and is an attorney, having received her JD from Stanford University. Baxter-Simons serves as the general counsel and chief compliance officer at Meritage Group.