Harvard Magazine identified the nine co-chairs for the university's $6.5 billion fundraising campaign. Five of the nine are private equity underwriters (PEU's):
1. Paul J. Finnegan, Madison Dearborn Partners
Paul Finnegan is co-Chief Executive Officer of Madison Dearborn Partners. Prior to co-founding Madison Dearborn Partners, Mr. Finnegan was with First Chicago Venture Capital for ten years. Mr. Finnegan has more than 30 years of experience in private equity investing with a particular focus on investments in the communications industry. Mr. Finnegan currently serves on the board of directors of CDW Corporation.
2. Glenn Hutchins, Silver Lake Partners
Mr. Hutchins is a co-founder of Silver Lake. He is chairman of the board of SunGard Corp. and a director of the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. and Mercury Payment Systems. Mr. Hutchins served President Clinton in both the transition and the White House as a special advisor on economic and health-care policy. He is also a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Vice Chairman of the Brookings Institution. Mr. Hutchins is a director of the Harvard Management Company, which is responsible for the University’s endowment, and Chairman of the DuBois Institute at Harvard. He is an owner and member of the Executive Committee of the Boston Celtics basketball team. He is also a trustee of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and a board member of the Economics Club of New York. Mr. Hutchins holds an A.B. from Harvard College, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.3. Paul Maeder, Highland Capital Partners
As a Founding Partner of Highland, he has over 28 years of experience in venture capital and has served as a director of many public and private companies. He manages Highland’s investments in Avidyne, Bit9, BlueTarp Financial, Imprivata, Rethink Robotics and 2U where he is Board Chair. Paul was the 2011-2012 Chair of the National Venture Capital Association during the creation and passage of the JOBS Act. He serves on the SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies.4. Diana Nelson, Carlson (privately held conglomerate)
5. Joseph J. O'Donnell, Centerplate, Inc.
Mr. Joseph O'Donnell founded Boston Culinary Group, Inc. in 1961 and served as its Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director. O'Donnell merged concessions giant Boston Culinary Group into Centerplate, Inc. Mr. O’Donnell also owns Allied Advertising Agency, the leading advertising agency in the motion picture industry. He also has stakes in movie theaters, ski resorts, and restaurants including John Harvard's Brew House. And he's a partner in the $200 million Westin at the Boston convention center.
6. Lisbet Rausing, philanthropist, daughter of Swedish entrepreneur Hans Rausing
7. James F. Rothenberg, The Capital Group
8. David M. Rubenstein, co-CEO and co-founder of The Carlyle Group
David M. Rubenstein is a Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Carlyle Group. Mr. Rubenstein is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to forming the firm in 1987, Mr. Rubenstein practiced law in Washington, D.C. with Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge (now Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw Pittman). From 1977 to 1981, during the Carter administration, Mr. Rubenstein was Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. From 1975 to 1976, he served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments.
9. Gwill E. York, co-founder Lighthouse Capital Partners
Gwill led the firm's east coast investment activities, managed LP relations and oversaw portfolio management for the first five Lighthouse investment partnerships. She continues to manage Lighthouse's fourth and fifth investment partnerships in conjunction with the firm's partners. While at Lighthouse Gwill sponsored the firm's investments in NxStage Medical, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, DataSage, Sirocco Systems, Corvis, Triton, Ontogeny, StorageNetworks, and Bolt Media.
This is evidence of private equity's ubiquitousness in today's world. The business of buying and selling companies has produced massive wealth, which Harvard wants to mine.
Update 5-26-23: Rubenstein's time on the Harvard Corporation board is coming to an end.