Jonathan Lavine

Jonathan Lavine is Chair at Bain Capital, a global private investment firm based in Boston. Mr. Lavine joined Bain Capital’s private equity business in 1993, and founded its Credit and Special Situations businesses in 1998. He began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in mergers and acquisitions and as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Mr. Lavine is Chair Emeritus of the Trustees of Columbia University and Chairman Emeritus of the National Board of Trustees at City Year. In 2007, Mr. Lavine and his wife, Jeannie, formed and oversee the Crimson Lion Foundation, which delivers financial resources to a variety of nonprofit organizations focused on leveling the playing field for individuals and families. They are longtime supporters of Columbia University, where Mr. Lavine is Chair Emeritus of the Trustees of the University, and Harvard University, where they endowed the Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health and provided substantial support to fund scholarships for first-generation students at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Lavine is a 2017 recipient of Columbia University’s Alexander Hamilton Medal, the highest honor awarded to a member of the college community for distinguished service. He is a past recipient of Columbia’s John Jay Award for professional achievement, Columbia’s David Truman Award for outstanding contribution to academic affairs and Columbia/Barnard Hillel’s Seixas Award.

President Obama appointed Mr. Lavine to the U.S Holocaust Memorial Council 2016. He was reappointed by President Biden in 2023.

Mr. Lavine graduated from Columbia College, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, as well as Harvard Business School, with an M.B.A. in distinction.