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Karen King is a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of Silver Lake, the global technology investment firm. Silver Lake differentiates itself from generalist investment firms by focusing on investing in and cultivating leading tech, tech-enabled and related growth businesses at scale.
Karen joined Silver Lake over 20 years ago and has been involved in numerous transactions for the firm, including Dell, Skype, and Broadcom/VMware, just to name a few. She currently serves on the board of Relativity, the leading e-Discovery platform, Qualtrics, the category creator of Experience Management, and Endeavor, the global sports and entertainment juggernaut. Previously, she also served on the boards of enterprise software companies, Aras and Serena Software, where she led the successful sales of each business.
Regularly called upon to help solve difficult, complicated and/or sensitive matters, Karen frequently advises directors and senior management of many of Silver Lake portfolio companies. She has been involved in multiple acquisitions, divestitures, financings, IPO processes, and various other major and complex transactions.
Outside of her role at Silver Lake, Karen serves as an independent director on the board of Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN). She is also a member of the investment collective, Broadway Angels.
Karen graduated from Duke University in 1994 with a degree in Public Policy and a certificate in German, including studying abroad with Duke in Berlin. She previously served on the Board of Visitors for Duke’s Trinity College and before that on the Board of Visitors for Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy. She has also been actively involved in supporting the Duke Technology (DTech) Scholars program. And she is an avid supporter of Duke Athletics, including women’s sports, and is a member of the Legacy Fund.
Karen is also a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she served as co-chair of the 25th reunion for her class. She also serves on the Executive Advisory Board of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. In addition, Karen has served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Menlo School. Previously, she also served on the Investment Committee for Sacred Hearts Schools – Atherton.
Karen has also served as the Board Chair for the American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley (ALF), where she is a Senior Fellow. She has also served on the Silicon Valley Leadership Council of the Global Fund for Children. And she and her husband are Trustees for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation.
Karen lives in Silicon Valley. Her husband, Greg, whom she met at Harvard Law School, was formerly the General Counsel of Veritas Technologies. Their daughter, Caroline, graduated from Duke in May 2024 and is now teaching 5th grade at an international school in Korea and their son, Charlie, is a junior who is majoring in computer science with a focus on AI/ML and is a former member of the Duke football team.
Elected to the Duke University Board of Trustees in 2022, Karen serves as chair of the Finance Committee and on the Executive Committee and Audit and Compliance Committee.
July 2025