This fall, Lisa Carnoy ’89CC and Jonathan Lavine ’88CC became co-chairs of the University Board of Trustees, taking over from Jonathan Schiller ’69CC, ’73LAW, who led the board for five years.
Carnoy is a leader in global finance and capital markets. She spent twenty-three years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently as division executive for the Northeast for U.S. Trust and as New York City market president for Bank of America. She has been a passionate advocate for diversity, cofounding several organizations that promote the advancement of women, including the Women’s Leadership Council at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and, at Columbia, the Women’s Leadership Council for Athletics. A University Trustee since 2010, Carnoy has received Columbia College’s John Jay Award for professional achievement, its Alumna Achievement Award, and the University’s Alumni Medal. She most recently chaired the board’s Alumni Relations and Development Committee and served on its Compensation, Finance, Officers, and Trusteeship Committees.
Lavine is co–managing partner of Bain Capital, the global investment firm. He joined the company in 1993 and soon founded its credit unit, Bain Capital Credit, where he still serves as chief investment officer. He and his wife, Jeannie, are prominent philanthropists and in 2007 formed the Crimson Lion Foundation, which supports a wide variety of organizations that fight social injustice and economic inequality. Lavine has received Columbia College’s Alexander Hamilton Medal, John Jay Award, and Dean’s Leadership Award for the Class of 1988 twenty-fifth reunion. He became a member of Columbia’s Board of Trustees in 2011 and most recently chaired its Committee on Finance and its Subcommittee on Shareholder Responsibility. He also served on its Alumni Relations and Development, Compensation, Officers, and Trusteeship Committees.
Carnoy and Lavine’s joint leadership of the Board is the natural culmination of more than thirty years of collaborative service to the University. Before being elected trustees, Carnoy and Lavine worked together as officers on the Columbia College Board of Visitors; they now work together on the University-wide Columbia Commitment fundraising campaign and on the College’s Core to Commencement campaign. As undergraduates, both were student-athletes — Carnoy lettered as a sprinter for women’s track and field, and Lavine lettered as a member of the Lions golf squad — and they have remained involved in Columbia Athletics.
