# Tully Friedman

> Tully Friedman is a San Francisco private equity investor who co-founded Hellman & Friedman in 1984 and founded FFL in 1997. Now Founder, Senior Advisor at FFL Partners, his career includes Salomon Brothers, corporate boards and leadership at San Francisco Opera.

- **Role:** Founder, Senior Advisor at FFL Partners
- **Organizations:** FFL Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Salomon Brothers, San Francisco Opera, St. Paul’s School, Telluride Foundation, American Enterprise Institute
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** A.B., with great distinction, Stanford University, J.D., Harvard Law School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Hellman & Friedman and founded FFL Partners., Helped lead Hellman & Friedman during a period when it established more than $2.5 billion in partnerships and invested substantially in 40 companies., Founded Salomon Brothers’ West Coast corporate finance department.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Managing director at Salomon Brothers; founded its West Coast corporate finance department.
- **1984** — Co-founded Hellman & Friedman with Warren Hellman.
- **1980s** — Served as president of the San Francisco Opera board.
- **1997** — Left Hellman & Friedman and founded the firm now called FFL Partners.
- **2020** — Welcomed Chris Harris and Cas Schneller as managing partners at FFL.
- **2020** — Joined St. Paul’s School’s board of trustees.
- **2026** — FFL’s current team page lists him as Founder, Senior Advisor; checked October 9, 2026.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Hellman & Friedman and founded FFL Partners.
- Helped lead Hellman & Friedman during a period when it established more than $2.5 billion in partnerships and invested substantially in 40 companies.
- Founded Salomon Brothers’ West Coast corporate finance department.
- With Ann Friedman, underwrote San Francisco Opera’s Satyagraha production in its 1989 summer season.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Current FFL team page identifies Friedman as Founder, Senior Advisor; this is a verification date, not an appointment announcement.
- **2026-09** — FFL, the firm he founded, announced an investment in Waylin Partners on September 10. The announcement does not attribute the transaction to Friedman personally.
- **2025-06** — Appeared on Episode 22 of Generating Alpha, published June 5, discussing his career and investment partnerships.

## Links

- Website: https://www.fflpartners.com/team
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tully-fridman-33624548

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tully-fridman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09