Nancy R. Heinen
Nancy Regina Heinen of Portola Valley, California, is an American corporate lawyer, business executive, and philanthropist. Heinen is known for being the General Counsel, Senior Vice President, and Secretary for Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.) between September 1997 and May 2006. Heinen is currently a member of the board of VERB and the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund. She also serves on the board of directors and advisory boards for several other companies and philanthropic organizations.
Nancy R. Heinen
American
University of California, Berkeley (PhD), (JD), 1982
Corporate lawyer, corporate executive
- VERB
- Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund
- UC Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy
- Embrace
- Northern California Innocence Project
- Illuminate Ventures
- Duarte
Dennis DeBroeck
Early life and education[edit]
Heinen received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Juris Doctor from University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1982.
Legal career[edit]
Early life and career[edit]
Heinen began her career as an associate in several San Francisco Bay Area law firms. She then worked in the legal department of Tandem Computers and was later hired by Steve Jobs as the general counsel at NeXT.[1] From 1988 to 1993, Heinen was the Secretary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. While at NeXT, Heinen helped to prepare the company for its initial public offering, and its eventual acquisition by Apple Computer Inc.[2]
Apple Computer Inc (1997 - 2006)[edit]
After NeXT was purchased by Apple in March 1996, Heinen stayed with the company as General Counsel and secretary. Heinen later became Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Legal Secretary of Apple Computer Inc.[3] She was also on the board of BSA Software Alliance from 1996 to 2005.
Heinen was one of several Apple executives, along with Fred D. Anderson, Mitch Mandich, Jon Rubinstein, and Avie Tevanian, credited with helping to revive Apple after it experienced a financial decline in the 1990s.[4] During this time, Apple began pre-emptively applying for patents to prevent them from being obtained by the company's competition, a tactic Heinen described as "a defensive tool".[5] Heinen left Apple on May 1, 2006, after nine years with the company. Neither Heinen nor Apple commented on her departure other than to confirm it.[6] Shortly afterwards, the company admitted to irregularities in its handling of executive stock option dating.[7]
Philanthropy and non-profit work: 2006 - present[edit]
After leaving Apple, Heinen became involved in various philanthropic and non-profit organizations, particularly those related to social justice, and economic and educational outreach.[13][14] In 2009, Heinen joined the board of directors of Silicon Valley Social Ventures. a non-profit founded by Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen.[15] Heinen became vice chair in 2011, and chairman in 2012. She participated in the education grant round and partner advisory board, and served as a co-leader of FY16-17's international grant round.[16]
Heinen is Chair of the Board of Directors for First Place For Youth, a non-profit organization which helps foster youths,[17] and of Teen Success Inc.[18] Heinen has served as a member of the board of several other organizations such as Embrace, the UC Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy, Northern California Innocence Project, Illuminate Ventures, Duarte, and Vitamix.[19] Heinen is also a sponsor of People Acting in Community Together (P.A.C.T).[20]
On December 20, 2019, it was announced that Heinen had joined the board of directors of VERB Technology Company, Inc., a Newport Beach, California based software company.[21]
Personal life[edit]
Heinen is married to attorney Dennis DeBroeck, a partner in the corporate group at Fenwick & West law firm, which is counsel to Apple Inc.[22]