Jim Vieceli

Jim joined Playground Global as General Counsel in August 2025.  He manages the legal affairs of the firm and supports the investing team and portfolio companies on deal execution and corporate development matters.  Jim joined Playground from General Electric, where he was last Head of Business Development for GE Licensing and was the executive team leader in the $430 million sale of GE Licensing to Dolby.  Jim joined GE as the Head of Business Development for GE Ventures, where he focused on forming new businesses and portfolio management.  

Prior to GE, Jim was Senior Vice President & Fund Counsel at The Gores Group, a leading private equity firm.  At Gores, Jim was part of the M&A team and the operations team, where he was responsible for a broad range of strategy and operational matters for the firm’s portfolio companies. 

Jim joined Gores from CD Metropoulos & Co., a family office focused on acquisitions of consumer goods companies, where he was General Counsel.  In that position, Jim also acted as SVP & General Counsel of Pabst Brewing Company, where he led the corporate development and legal initiatives for the restructuring, growth and $700 million sale of Pabst to a private equity consortium.

Jim began his career as an M&A and corporate finance lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell, where he developed expertise in venture capital deals, cross-border M&A and capital markets transactions working in the firm’s offices in New York, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, and London.  Jim received a B.S. from Santa Clara University, a J.D. from New York Law School, and is a member of the California Bar Association.  In his free time, Jim enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and four children, snowboarding, camping, attending concerts, and adding to his collection of records.