Two distinguished investment leaders have been named to Carnegie Corporation of New York’s board of trustees: Maria Elena (Mel) Lagomasino, CEO & managing partner of the fiduciary firm WE Family Offices, and Kevin J. Conway, vice chairman of the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).
“We are delighted to welcome two outstanding finance executives to our board of trustees,” said Thomas H. Kean, Carnegie Corporation of New York board chair and former governor of New Jersey. “Mel Lagomasino has been a trailblazer on Wall Street for decades, and Kevin Conway is a leader of a highly respected private equity firm. Both bring with them expertise, public service, and stewardship, and the Corporation is most fortunate to have them as board members.”
“Mel Lagomasino graduated from college with a degree in French literature and went on to become a pioneer among women bankers on Wall Street, reaching the top spot at JP Morgan Private Bank,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “After earning both law and business degrees, Kevin Conway has worked in the financial sector for more than 30 years, and in the past year he has shared his expertise and learning with our Investment Management Committee as a trusted advisor. We believe the Corporation’s ability to fund our philanthropic mission will benefit immensely through their contributions to our board.”
In addition, Janet L. Robinson, the former president and CEO of The New York Times Company, was elected to serve as vice chair of the board, and Governor Kean was elected to resume his position as chair.
After serving two four-year terms, investment banker and former diplomat Stephen A. Oxman is stepping down from the board, where he was a valued member of the Investment Management Committee.
In their new board positions, Lagomasino and Conway will both join the Corporation’s Investment Management Committee.
As CEO and managing partner of WE Family Offices, Lagomasino helps financially successful families organize and manage their wealth like a well-run company. A recognized global leader in the wealth-management industry, she is a founder of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, an investor think tank.
Before founding WE, Lagomasino served as CEO of GenSpring Family Offices, a wealth-management firm. Previously she served as chairman and chief executive officer of JP Morgan Private Bank, an institution with more than $300 billion in client assets under supervision. Lagomasino began her career in banking at Citibank in 1977. Joining Chase Manhattan Private Bank in 1983, she was named head of Chase’s worldwide private banking business in 1997 ahead of the JP Morgan-Chase merger.
In September 2006 President George W. Bush appointed Lagomasino to assist in the effort to secure private sector funds to aid disaster victims in Central America and to serve on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Advisory Board on Transformational Diplomacy. The next year Hispanic Business Magazine named her one of its Women of the Year. In 2012, the National Association of Corporate Directors named Lagomasino as part of its Directorship 100, while American Banker recognized her as one of the year’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance. In August 2015 Private Asset Management magazine named her one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Private Wealth.
A graduate of Manhattanville College, Lagomasino earned graduate degrees from Columbia University and Fordham University.
As the vice chairman of the private equity firm CD&R, Conway is a member of the global private equity firm’s management committee, and is chairman of the firm’s investment committee, which evaluates all potential investments. Throughout his 25 years at the firm, including serving as managing partner from 2004 to 2015, Conway has been active in many of CD&R’s investment and organizational initiatives, working closely with the chief executive officer on all aspects of the firm’s operations.
Formerly a senior member of the mergers and acquisitions department at Goldman Sachs & Co., Conway later served as chief of staff of the firm’s Investment Banking division. A member of several private and public corporate boards, Conway is the former chairman and current vice chairman of the board of directors of Student Sponsor Partners, an organization providing educational opportunities to at-risk inner-city children in New York City. He also serves on the boards of Catholic Health Services of Long Island, a network of six hospitals, three nursing homes, and several community service organizations; and the New York Catholic Foundation, which administers funds for the Archdiocese of New York in pursuit of the religious, charitable, educational and community services activities of the Archdiocese.
A graduate of Amherst College, where he has served in many leadership and volunteer roles, Conway earned his law and business degrees from Columbia University.