You have to constantly be rethinking your business and what your future is going to be if you’re going to be successful. Businesses that don't change, ask questions, and don't try to do better are the ones that go out of business over time. - George R. Roberts

George Roberts

Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Menlo Park

George R. Roberts, a pioneer of the private equity industry, co-founded Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. ("KKR") in 1976. For over thirty years, Mr. Roberts, along with KKR co-founder Henry Kravis, has led the firm in its growth into a leading global alternative asset manager. Mr. Roberts participates in all of KKR's investment activities, and serves on the Investment and Portfolio Management Committees.

Prior to co-founding KKR, Mr. Roberts was in the Corporate Finance Department of Bear Stearns & Company from 1969 to 1976. During this time, he became a partner at age 29 and, along with Mr. Kravis and Jerome Kohlberg, pioneered the use of leverage in acquisitions.

After graduating from Culver Military Institute in 1962, Mr. Roberts earned a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College in 1966, and a J.D. from the University of California (Hastings) Law School in 1969. He has been a member of the board of directors of numerous public and private companies, and he currently serves as a director or trustee of several cultural and educational institutions, including the San Francisco Symphony, Claremont McKenna College, and Culver Military Institute.

Mr. Roberts is founder and Chairman of the board of directors of REDF, a San Francisco non-profit organization. REDF uses the practices of venture philanthropy to create job opportunities through the support of social enterprises that help people gain the skills to help themselves.


Henry Kravis

Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
New York

Henry R. Kravis, a pioneer of the private equity industry, co-founded Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. ("KKR") in 1976. For over thirty years, Mr. Kravis, along with KKR co-founder George Roberts, has led the firm in its growth into a leading global alternative asset manager. Mr. Kravis is actively involved in managing the firm and serves on the Investment and Portfolio Management Committees.

Prior to co-founding KKR, Mr. Kravis was in the Corporate Finance Department of Bear Stearns & Company from 1969 to 1976. During this time, he, along with Mr. Roberts and Jerome Kohlberg, pioneered the use of leverage in acquisitions.

Mr. Kravis earned a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and an M.B.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Over the years, he has been a member of the board of directors of numerous public and private companies, and he currently serves as a director or trustee of several cultural and educational institutions, including the Partnership for New York City, Mount Sinai Hospital, WNET.ORG (New York public television stations Thirteen - WNET and WLIW21), Columbia Graduate School of Business (where he is chairman of the board), Rockefeller University, and Claremont McKenna College.

Mr. Kravis is co-chairman of the New York City Investment Fund (NYCIF), a non-profit organization he founded in 1996 to create jobs and help small businesses in New York City. In response to other targeted needs that have arisen in the city, the Fund has created special purpose programs. For example, the NYCIF was responsible for raising $11 million to provide 88 recoverable grants to small businesses in Lower Manhattan that suffered damage following the events of September 11, 2001.

At Claremont McKenna College, he founded the Kravis Leadership Institute and established the Kravis Prize in Leadership, which is awarded annually to an international, non-profit organization that demonstrates leadership, creativity, and sustainability. Mr. Kravis also serves on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations.



As of October 27, 2009