# Steven B. Klinsky

> Steven B. Klinsky is the founder and CEO of New Mountain Capital and founder and CEO of Modern States Education Alliance. After co-founding Goldman Sachs’ leveraged buyout group and becoming a general partner at Forstmann Little, he established New Mountain in 1999. His education philanthropy spans after-school programs, the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem, a Harvard Law School professorship and free courses that prepare learners for credit-bearing CLEP exams.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Executive Officer at New Mountain Capital
- **Organizations:** New Mountain Capital, Modern States Education Alliance, New Mountain Finance Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Forstmann Little & Co., Gary Klinsky Children’s Centers, Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem, Harvard Law School
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., Economics and Political Philosophy, with high honors, University of Michigan, M.B.A., joint JD/MBA program, Harvard Business School, J.D., with honors, joint JD/MBA program, Harvard Law School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Goldman Sachs’ leveraged buyout group and helped execute more than $3 billion in transactions during 1981-1984., Helped oversee seven Forstmann Little private equity and debt partnerships totaling more than $10 billion., Established New Mountain Capital in 1999; Jefferies described its assets under management as $60 billion in December 2025.

## Career timeline

- **1976** — Completes University of Michigan undergraduate degree after entering in September 1974.
- **1979** — Earns Harvard MBA.
- **1981** — Earns Harvard JD and co-founds Goldman Sachs’ leveraged buyout group.
- **1984** — Joins Forstmann Little as an associate partner.
- **1986** — Becomes a general partner at Forstmann Little.
- **1993** — Establishes Gary Klinsky Children’s Centers after-school programs.
- **1999** — Establishes New Mountain Capital; organizes Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem with Wyatt Tee Walker and others.
- **2012** — Begins publishing editorials describing the Modern States idea.
- **2013** — With Maureen Sherry Klinsky, endows a Harvard Law School professorship of practice.
- **2017** — Modern States publicly launches.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Goldman Sachs’ leveraged buyout group and helped execute more than $3 billion in transactions during 1981-1984.
- Helped oversee seven Forstmann Little private equity and debt partnerships totaling more than $10 billion.
- Established New Mountain Capital in 1999; Jefferies described its assets under management as $60 billion in December 2025.
- Founded Modern States, which reported more than 145,000 learner registrations and estimated college savings of $59 million in 2025.
- Organized New York state’s first charter school to open, Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem, with Wyatt Tee Walker and others.
- Co-endowed Harvard Law School’s first professorship of practice in 2013.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Appeared on Moonfare’s Deal Talk podcast with Steffen Pauls to discuss defensive growth, mid-market investing and private equity distributions.
- **2026-03** — Goldman Sachs published an Exchanges conversation with Alison Mass on business building and private equity, recorded February 18, 2026.
- **2026-01** — Modern States executive director Jefferson Pestronk outlined course improvements, evaluation partnerships and a planned limited AI tutor pilot.
- **2025-12** — Discussed fundraising and New Mountain’s collaborative investment practices at a Jefferies luncheon; Modern States separately reported its 2025 learner and savings figures.

## Links

- Website: https://www.newmountaincapital.com/team/steven-klinsky/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-klinsky-99b230101

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/steven-klinsky
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15