Christopher L. Clipper
Vice President, Investor Relations • Time Warner, Inc. • New York City • Age: 38
Three years ago, Christopher L. Clipper joined media and entertainment titan, Time Warner, Inc. In his current role as vice president of investor relations, he is responsible for the full and open disclosure and dissemination of relevant information to the Time Warner investment community—institutional shareholders, portfolio managers and analysts. In his previous capacity as executive director of mergers and acquisitions, he masterminded several successful strategic transactions, including the acquisition of Adelphia Communications Corporation and the liquidation of America Online Latin America Inc.
He attributes much of his business acumen to lessons learned in childhood. He recalls the question that his parents constantly posed: “So, what’s your plan?” He explains: “Due diligence was a staple in my home. You either had a plan or you had a problem.” That, says the skilled strategist and negotiator, is how he came to be known as “the man with a plan.”
Prior to joining Time Warner, Clipper was a director at Salomon Smith Barney, an associate at Morgan Stanley & Co. and an analyst at Bankers Trust Co. His career ascent is a reflection of the advice he received from his first boss and business mentor, Donald Schule. “He told me that the best jobs are challenging and that when I stop being challenged, I needed to start looking for another job,” Clipper recounts.
Clipper serves as one of Time Warner’s ethics and compliance officers and volunteers with the national nonprofit, Taproot Foundation, which provides resources to other nonprofits to help them thrive. In 2002, he received the Black Achievers in Industry award from the Harlem Branch of the YMCA of Greater New York and he is listed in the International Who’s Who of Professionals. He holds a B.A. in economics from Brown University and both a M.B.A. and Certificate of Public Management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Clipper also studied at the University of London as a visiting student in its Economics Department.
