PayPal Co-founder Wins Leadership Award for LGBT Entrepreneurs

Jack Stephenson, Peter Thiel, and StartOut founder Darren Spedale

Peter Thiel, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist and PayPal co-founder, was honored Thursday night with a leadership award at StartOut's First Annual LGBT Entrepreneurship Awards ceremony in San Francisco.

Jack Stephenson, director of mobile, e-commerce and payments at JPMorgan Chase, presented the award to Thiel, who also served as keynote speaker. "As a pioneer and visionary, Peter has helped to build the next generation of tech entrepreneurs both in Silicon Valley and across the globe," said Stephenson. "His leadership and achievements have been an inspiration to the LGBT entrepreneurial community, and we're proud to honor him tonight surrounded by such exceptional talent and innovative spirit."

Other honorees included Kathy Levinson, former E*TRADE COO and Lesbian Equity Foundation founder; Geoff Lewis, founder and CEO of TopGuest; and Ramona Pierson, founder and CEO of SynapticMash.