Dean Glenn Hubbard announced today that Henry R. Kravis ’69, founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., will cochair the School’s Board of Overseers, effective immediately. He joins Russell L. Carson ’67, general partner of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.
“I am delighted that my good friend Henry Kravis is serving as cochair with me,” said Mr. Carson. “The School is an exciting place for alumni, with a community that is always growing and always innovating. I look forward to working with Henry on solidifying the School’s position as the international leader in graduate business education.” Dean Hubbard added, “We are very pleased to have Henry join Russ and look forward to their dynamic teamwork. Both are highly respected business leaders who are committed to education and New York City. We look forward to working with them to further elevate the Columbia Business School brand.”
An esteemed alumnus and champion of Columbia Business School’s intellectual capital, Kravis has been a member of the Board of Overseers since 1990. He has generously supported the construction of a new classroom building and the establishment of the Henry R. Kravis Professorship of Business Leadership. Most recently, he chaired the 28th Annual Dinner, raising a record-breaking $10 million to establish the Meyer Feldberg Distinguished Fellowship Program, an initiative that will help the School continue to attract the most outstanding MBA students year after year.
Kravis is the founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), a merchant banking firm that pioneered the development of the management (leveraged) buyout. He has been involved in many large and successful acquisitions, including those involving RJR Nabisco, Beatrice, Safeway and Duracell.
Kravis is also the founder and cochairman of the New York City Investment Fund, which was designed to provide financial and business development assistance to companies that create jobs, contribute to growth sectors of the economy and promote economic revitalization of distressed neighborhoods. A private fund with a civic mission, the fund has built a network of top experts from the investment and corporate communities who help identify and support New York City’s most promising entrepreneurs in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. The fund has raised more than $95 million and to date has invested in more than sixty projects.
Kravis is also a chairman emeritus of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit membership organization committed to working with government, labor and the nonprofit sector to enhance the economy and maintain New York City’s position as the global center of commerce, culture and innovation. Kravis is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on several corporate boards. He also serves on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mount Sinai Hospital, Public Television Channel 13/New York, and Rockefeller University, and he is past chairman of the board at Claremont McKenna College.
Russell Carson has served as chairman of the Board of Overseers since 2001. He is a general partner and cofounder of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, one of the country’s largest private investment firms. A business and community leader, Carson is a trustee of Dartmouth College and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, chairman of the Rockefeller University’s board of trustees, a director of the Partnership for New York City, cochairman of the New York City Investment Fund and chairman of the Inner-City Scholarship Endowment Fund.
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