Board of Trustees Announces New Chairman

Since he graduated more than 30 years ago, Robert Knox has never strayed far from Boston University. A decadelong member of the University’s Board of Trustees, he has served on the dean’s advisory councils for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Management, and in 1999 he delivered SMG’s convocation address. Both of his children attended BU, and his wife, Jeanne, currently chairs the Parents Leadership Council. “I have a lifelong interest in the University,” says Knox (CAS’74, GSM’75), “and it is a privilege and an honor to serve it.”

In the next year, Knox will step up his dedication to an even higher level. Today, the Board of Trustees announced that Knox will replace Alan Leventhal as chairman of the board. “Alan was an excellent chairman,” Knox says. “My goal is to live up to the same high standards he set to continue moving the University forward.”

“Boston University has been exceedingly fortunate to have the outstanding leadership of Alan Leventhal as chair of our Board of Trustees during a critical time in our history," says President Robert A. Brown."We are equally as fortunate to have Bob Knox step into the role of chair. He shares in our vision for the University, and he has ably demonstrated his leadership and commitment to the University during his service on the board.”

Knox, who joined the Board of Trustees in 1997, was elected vice chairman in 2004. He has served on the Executive Compensation Committee, which he currently chairs, as well as the Investment, Executive, Governance, and Development and Alumni Relations Committees. In 2004, he served as chairman of the Ad Hoc Implementation Committee and oversaw the development and execution of new governance policies and practices designed to improve the board’s effectiveness.

His greatest accomplishment, says Knox, was serving as vice chairman of the search committee that selected Brown as the University’s 10th president. “Under President Brown’s leadership, the board has put in place a set of principles and governance reforms that are now models for other universities,” he says.

The senior managing director of Cornerstone Equity Investors, L.L.C., a New York–based private equity firm he cofounded in 1984, Knox has a long history of expertise in the health-care, technology, and consumer product industries. During his investment career, he has served on the boards of more than 30 public and private companies, including Health Management Associates, Atlas Acquisition Holdings Corp., and Lincoln Vale European Partners.

Prior to the formation of Cornerstone Equity Investors, Knox was chairman and chief executive officer of Prudential Equity Investors, Inc., the private equity subsidiary of Prudential Financial. Under his leadership, Prudential became one of the largest institutional investors in both private equity funds and direct private equity investments.

“Bob Knox has been an outstanding member of the executive group of the trustees and has committed a considerable amount of time to working on various important aspects of board activities,” says President Emeritus Aram Chobanian (Hon.’06), the John I. Sandson Distinguished Professor of Health Sciences at the School of Medicine and BU’s ninth president. “I think his appointment will provide a smooth transition for the board as it brings in new leadership.”

In the upcoming year, Knox says, the board plans to recruit additional board members and work with Brown in implementing the University’s 10-year strategic plan. “This is an exciting time for Boston University,” Knox says, “and I think everyone on the board, myself included, is looking forward to helping BU become an even greater institution.”

Vicky Waltz can be reached at vwaltz@bu.edu.