education-philanthropy

(12)
Legend
Jonathan Jones and the business of staying
Founder · Investor · Operator

Jonathan Jones and the business of staying

His family built a business around Mississippi hardwood. Jonathan Jones has widened the portfolio - and is putting money into the classrooms and workplaces that give the next generation a reason to stay.

jonathan-jones · jones-capitalRead →
Legend
Scott Riley Found a Second Business Inside the First
Founder · Executive · Operator

Scott Riley Found a Second Business Inside the First

Fintech paid the bills. Scott Riley saw what the bills could tell him - and found students who could help. His next investment was in the people coming after him.

scott-riley · fintechRead →
Legend
Reed Hastings and the trouble with getting good at something
Founder · Operator · Engineer

Reed Hastings and the trouble with getting good at something

Netflix taught Reed Hastings how success can harden into habit. His next chapter runs through classrooms, artificial intelligence and a Utah mountain, with the same awkward question: when should the rules change?

reed-hastings · netflixRead →
Legend
Steven Klinsky and the price of a year
Founder · Investor · Executive

Steven Klinsky and the price of a year

He finished Michigan in two and a quarter years. Decades later, the New Mountain Capital founder began asking why everyone else should have to pay for four.

steven-klinsky · steve-klinskyRead →
Legend
Stewart W. Bainum Sr. and the price of staying in school
Founder · Operator · Executive

Stewart W. Bainum Sr. and the price of staying in school

He arrived in Washington with $3 and a cardboard suitcase. Stewart W. Bainum Sr. helped build the business that became Choice Hotels, then spent decades helping students cross the financial barrier he remembered from his own classroom.

stewart-bainum-sr · choice-hotelsRead →
Legend
Sidney Lu and the education of a connector
Executive · Engineer · Operator

Sidney Lu and the education of a connector

He left Taiwan for Illinois, built a career in the parts that connect electronics, and returned to help rebuild the place that taught him. Sidney Lu’s story runs through factories, classrooms and a debt to his mother.

sidney-lu · sung-ching-luRead →
Legend
Rajeev Amara and the value of things that have to work
Founder · Investor · Executive

Rajeev Amara and the value of things that have to work

From elevator maintenance to aerospace components, Rajeev Amara has built Arcline around businesses with a practical job to do. His support for educators reveals another interest in institutions whose usefulness grows through other people.

rajeev-amara · arcline-investment-managementRead →
Legend
François-Charles Sirois and the cost of playing it safe
Founder · Investor · Operator

François-Charles Sirois and the cost of playing it safe

A crêpe dispute in Los Angeles offers a glimpse of the Telesystem chief’s appetite for a challenge. From Montreal’s music business to a gaming venture run from Madrid, François-Charles Sirois keeps putting his ideas about risk to work.

francois-charles-sirois · telesystemRead →
Legend
Larry Gies and the problem with goodbye
Founder · Executive · Operator

Larry Gies and the problem with goodbye

He built Madison by buying businesses, then changed course when selling them began to feel like a loss. From a borrowed $50,000 to a business school bearing his name, Larry Gies keeps returning to one question: what will last?

larry-gies · madison-industriesRead →
Legend
Fernando De Leon and the education of an owner
Founder · Investor · Operator

Fernando De Leon and the education of an owner

Before he founded Leon Capital Group, Fernando De Leon crossed the border for school and traded translation fees for a stake in the future. His career keeps returning to the same question: who gets to own what comes next?

fernando-de-leon · leon-capital-groupRead →
Legend
Blair Richardson and the geography of patience
Founder · Investor · Executive

Blair Richardson and the geography of patience

After a career spanning New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, Blair Richardson built Bow River Capital in Denver. His story connects a regional investment thesis with a long-running interest in what people can do when they get a start.

blair-richardson · bow-river-capitalRead →
Legend
Dell Murphy and the business of staying
Founder · Operator · Executive

Dell Murphy and the business of staying

After the family hog business was sold, Dell Murphy built a management company for what came next. In Wallace, North Carolina, that work now connects farms, boats, hospitality and another generation of Murphys.

dell-murphy · wendell-murphy-jrRead →