Jonathan Lavine
Bain Capital
Chair
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.
The London School of Economics Alternative Investments Conference (AIC) awarded Mr. Lavine the AIC Distinguished Speaker Honour in 2023 for his contributions and support to the AIC community. Mr. Lavine first served as a keynote speaker at the AIC in 2020 and has returned several times since. His leadership has inspired students and continues to impact the success of the LSE AIC.
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 also 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. In 2016, Mr. Lavine was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council by President Barack Obama. He was re-appointed by President Biden in 2023.
Outside of his charitable pursuits, Mr. Lavine is a member of the ownership group and a director of the Boston Celtics.
He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Columbia College, and received his M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School.