Leadership & Governance

Stephen A. Schwarzman is Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms with $1.1 trillion Assets Under Management (as of December 31, 2024). Mr. Schwarzman has been involved in all phases of Blackstone’s development since its founding in 1985. The firm has established leading investing businesses across asset classes, including private equity, where it is a global leader in traditional buyout, growth equity, special situations and secondary investing; real estate, where it is currently the largest owner of commercial property in the world; hedge fund solutions, where it is the world’s largest discretionary hedge fund investor; and credit, where it is a global leader and major provider of credit for small, middle-market and other companies. Blackstone also has major businesses dedicated to infrastructure and life sciences investing, as well as delivering the firm’s investment management expertise and products to insurance companies.

Mr. Schwarzman is an active philanthropist with a history of supporting education, as well as culture and the arts, among other things. In 2020, he signed The Giving Pledge, committing to give the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes. In both business and philanthropy, Mr. Schwarzman has dedicated himself to tackling big problems with transformative solutions. In June 2019, he donated £150 million to the University of Oxford to help redefine the study of the humanities for the 21st century. His gift – the largest single donation to Oxford since the renaissance – will create a new Centre for the Humanities which unites all humanities faculties under one roof for the first time in Oxford’s history, and will offer new performing arts and exhibition venues as well as a new Institute for Ethics in AI. In October 2018, he announced a foundational $350 million gift to establish the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, an interdisciplinary hub which will reorient MIT to address the opportunities and challenges presented by the rise of artificial intelligence, including critical ethical and policy considerations to ensure that the technologies are employed for the common good. In 2015, Mr. Schwarzman donated $150 million to Yale University to establish the Schwarzman Center, a first-of-its-kind campus center in Yale’s historic “Commons” building, and also gave a founding gift of $40 million to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, which provides tuition assistance to underprivileged children attending Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York. In 2013, he founded an international scholarship program, “Schwarzman Scholars,” at Tsinghua University in Beijing to educate future leaders about China. At over $575 million, the program is modeled on the Rhodes Scholarship and is the single largest philanthropic effort in China’s history coming largely from international donors. Mr. Schwarzman is Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Schwarzman Scholars. In 2007, Mr. Schwarzman donated $100 million to the New York Public Library on whose board he serves.

In 2019, Schwarzman published his first book What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, a New York Times Best Seller which draws from his experiences in business, philanthropy and public service.

Mr. Schwarzman is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, The Business Council, The Business Roundtable, and The International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is a former co-chair of the Partnership for New York City and serves on the boards of The Asia Society and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, as well as on The Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, Beijing. He is a Trustee of The Frick Collection in New York City and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 2007, Mr. Schwarzman was included in TIME’s “100 Most Influential People.” In 2016, he topped Forbes Magazine’s list of the most influential people in finance and in 2018 was ranked in the Top 50 on Forbes’ list of the “World’s Most Powerful People.” The Republic of France has awarded Mr. Schwarzman both the Légion d’Honneur and the Ordre des Arts et des Letters at the Commandeur level. Mr. Schwarzman is one of the only Americans to receive both awards recognizing significant contributions to France. He was also awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, Mexico’s highest honor for foreigners, for his work on behalf of the U.S. in support of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2018. Also, at the University of Oxford, Mr. Schwarzman was elected a Wykeham Fellow at New College in 2021 and a Waynflete Fellow at Magdalen College in 2023.

Mr. Schwarzman holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Management and on the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors.

Follow Mr. Schwarzman on LinkedIn.

Jonathan (“Jon”) Gray is President & Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone and is a member of the Board of Directors. He sits on the firm’s Management Committee and nearly all of its investment committees.

Mr. Gray was appointed to his current role in 2018. Since that time, Blackstone’s assets under management have more than doubled to over $1.1 trillion, as the firm has greatly expanded the breadth of clients it serves, including insurance companies and individual investors. He has also emphasized a thematic approach to investing across Blackstone’s businesses to drive performance.

Mr. Gray previously led Blackstone’s Real Estate business, which he helped build into the largest commercial real estate platform in the world. He joined Blackstone in 1992 in the M&A and Private Equity areas.

Mr. Gray has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hilton Worldwide since 2007, and is also on the board of XRG.

He and his wife, Mindy, established the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2012 focused on the prevention and treatment of BRCA-related cancers. They have also established numerous programs for low-income children in New York, including creating NYC Kids Rise, a college savings initiative provided to every NYC public school kindergartner. The Grays have been named to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the largest donors in the U.S.

Mr. Gray received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, as well as a BA in English from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

Follow him on LinkedIn.

Kenneth A. Caplan is the Global Co-Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone. As Co-CIO, he works in conjunction with business unit CIOs and Group Heads to provide additional firm-level investment oversight, primarily across Real Estate and Credit & Insurance (BXCI).

Mr. Caplan previously served as Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate. Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate and an industry leader in opportunistic, core plus and debt investing across North America, Europe and Asia.

Prior to becoming Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate, Mr. Caplan served as Global Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Real Estate and Head of Real Estate Europe. Since joining the firm in 1997, Mr. Caplan has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate acquisitions and initiatives in the United States, Europe and Asia. These include major acquisitions such as Equity Office Properties, Hilton Hotels, Logicor and GE Real Estate.

Before joining Blackstone, he was at Lazard Freres & Co. in the real estate investment banking group. Mr. Caplan received an AB in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a John Harvard Scholar. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Prep for Prep.

Gilles Dellaert is the Global Head of Blackstone Credit and Insurance (BXCI) based in New York.

Prior to joining Blackstone in April 2020, Mr. Dellaert served as Co-President and Chief Investment Officer of Global Atlantic Financial Group. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs in its Reinsurance Group which became Global Atlantic upon its separation in 2013. Prior to that he was with Goldman Sachs in its Credit Trading business and with JP Morgan.

Mr. Dellaert holds a bachelor’s degree from Ghent University in Belgium.

Michael Zawadzki is the Global Chief Investment Officer for Blackstone Credit and Insurance (BXCI) based in New York. Mr. Zawadzki serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED), Blackstone Senior Direct Lending Fund (BXD), Blackstone Green Private Credit Fund III (BGREEN III), Blackstone Multi-Asset Credit Fund (BMAC), and Blackstone Private Multi-Asset Credit & Income Fund (BMACX).
 
Prior to joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Zawadzki was with Citigroup Private Equity. Before that, Mr. Zawadzki worked in the investment banking division of Salomon Smith Barney.
 
Mr. Zawadzki received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Kathleen McCarthy is the Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate. Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate globally with $315 billion in investor capital under management (as of December 31, 2024). Blackstone Real Estate is an industry leader in opportunistic, core plus and debt investing across North America, Europe and Asia. Ms. McCarthy focuses on driving performance and growth for Blackstone’s Real Estate business.

Ms. McCarthy previously served as Global Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Real Estate. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Ms. McCarthy worked at Goldman Sachs, where she focused on investments for the Real Estate Principal Investment Area. Ms. McCarthy began her career at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group.

Ms. McCarthy received a BA with Distinction from Yale University. She serves on the Boards of City Harvest, the Real Estate Roundtable, the PREA Foundation, and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, and is the President of the Board of Trustees of The Nightingale-Bamford School.

Nadeem Meghji is the Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate. Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate globally and an industry leader in opportunistic, core plus and debt investing across North America, Europe and Asia.

Mr. Meghji previously served as Head of Real Estate Americas and has played a leadership role in Blackstone Real Estate’s investment activity in the region. Mr. Meghji joined Blackstone in 2008.

Mr. Meghji received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Meghji serves as a board member for the Lupus Research Alliance and is the Co-Chair of the annual Rally Against Lupus fundraiser. Mr. Meghji was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2018.

Ms. Collins is an independent finance professional and from 2013 to 2017, served as CEO to SmartFinance LLC, a Fintech startup purchased by MidFirst Bank in December of 2017. During her career in financial services, Ms. Collins worked as a Senior Managing Director (Partner) and Head of Asset-Backed Securities Research at Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. for six years and prior to that, as a Managing Director (Partner) and Head of Asset-Backed Securities and Structured Products at Credit Suisse (formerly known as Credit Suisse First Boston) for nine years. During her tenure as a structured product specialist, Ms. Collins was consistently recognized as a “First Team All American Research Analyst.” Ms. Collins served as an independent director for KKR Financial from August 2006 to May 2014. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in the Plan II Honors Program. Ms. Collins is also a Trustee of BXSL and BCRED.

Mr. Clark serves as a Partner and generalist on the investment team of Sound Shore Management, Inc. (“Sound Shore”), which he joined in 2004. Mr. Clark is responsible for the firm’s investments in energy, industrials, materials, and utilities. His tenure also includes heading Sound Shore’s Governance Committee and having served on its Investment and Operating Committees. Previously, Mr. Clark worked at Credit Suisse First Boston (“CSFB”) from 1984 to 2004, most recently as a Managing Director from 1996 to 2004. At CSFB, Mr. Clark served as Head of US Equity Research, from 2000 to 2004, and as the firm’s International and Domestic Oil Analyst, from 1989 to 2000. Mr. Clark has an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Williams College, cum laude and with highest honors. Mr. Clark also served as a winter adjunct faculty member at Williams College, from 2020 to 2024. Mr. Clark is also a Trustee of BXSL and BCRED.

Ms. Fuller has served on the board of directors, board of trustees, and key committees for eight for-profit companies. From 2012 to 2018, Ms. Fuller served as the Chief Investment Officerat New York State Common Retirement Fund (“NYS Common”). Prior to NYS Common, Ms. Fuller had a 27-year career at AllianceBernstein in New York City, a global investment manager, where her final position was Managing Directorof the institutional team accountable for business development and client services to the large public pension plan market. Earlier in her career, Ms. Fuller also served roles at Standard and Poor’s and Morgan Stanley. Ms. Fuller received her MBA from the University of Chicago and her BSBA from Roosevelt University. Ms. Fuller is also a Trustee of BXSL and BCRED.

Ms. Pascucci serves as a board member of Needham Bank, and is the president and principal of Rose Grove Capital Management, LLC which manages fixed income credit hedge funds focused on the preferred stock and hybrid capital markets. Ms. Pascucci previously served as Co-head of Global Capital Markets for Deutsche Bank in London and oversaw Global Debt Capital Markets, European and Asian Equity Capital Markets and High Yield/Leveraged Loans. Ms. Pascucci also managed the risk for the global primary investment grade, emerging market and structured note syndicate desks. At Merrill Lynch, where Ms. Pascucci began her career, she traded preferred stock, corporate bonds, and subsequently worked on the New York syndicate desk. She also worked at Merrill Lynch’s London office to help develop Merrill Lynch’s European credit business in anticipation of the introduction of the Euro common currency. In 2020 Ms. Pascucci completed a five-year term as a Board Member of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC. Ms. Pascucci has a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College and completed 12 years as a Trustee in the Investment, Audit and Buildings and Grounds Committees of the College.