Robert (Bob) O’Connor is a corporate partner with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Bob’s global practice focuses on the representation of high-growth enterprises, with an emphasis on those innovating in the energy, infrastructure, mobility, consumer products, and sustainability sectors, as well as the representation of venture capital and private equity firms, corporate venture groups, family offices, and impact investors that finance them. Bob serves as a strategic partner to his clients and their boards of directors through a broad range of complex financing and strategic corporate transactions at all stages of their development, from inception through exit.
Bob is credited with having founded the firm’s energy and climate solutions practice in 2003 and co-leads the firm’s industry initiative today, which includes a cross-disciplinary team that is widely viewed as being among the preeminent energy and infrastructure practices in the country. Nationally recognized as a thought leader in the sector, Bob is a frequent speaker at prominent industry events nationally, and he is a go-to strategic partner to universities, laboratories, and accelerators committed to technology commercialization directed at energy and infrastructure innovation.
Prior to founding the firm’s energy and climate solutions practice, Bob founded and served as managing partner of the firm’s Salt Lake City office, during which time he represented many of the leading venture capital and private equity investors and technology enterprises in the region, including Altiris (sold to Symantec), Backcountry.com, High West Distillery, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Omniture (sold to Adobe Systems), Overstock.com, and SkullCandy.
Bob also serves on the board of directors of the Wilson Sonsini Foundation, a philanthropic vehicle for the firm’s partners to support charitable and other community organizations.