Donald Graham

Professional Bio:

Don is the founder of The Graham Group, an alliance of industrial businesses and investment management firms, each of which traces its roots to a design engineering firm founded in Central Pennsylvania by Don in 1960 in the basement of his York County farmhouse.

The Graham Group’s three legacy industrial businesses, Graham Packaging, Graham Engineering, and Graham Architectural, operate globally and collectively generate several billion dollars in annual revenue. The Graham Group has also spawned multiple independent investment businesses, which today manage several billion dollars in internal capital for Graham and 3rd party capital for external institutional investors. Graham Capital is the internal investment office responsible for managing Graham family capital under an endowment-style, with a portfolio of investments in marketable securities and alternative investments. Graham Partners and Inverness Graham are independent Registered Investment Advisors managing committed capital under private equity structures for institutional investors. Additional private capital entities associated with the Graham family include GCI, Graham Sports & Entertainment Partners, Graham Software Development, Striker Partners and Frontline Healthcare Partners, which manage a combination of internal and external capital and make direct investments in a variety of sectors, including software development/information technology, healthcare, education, and sports.

Don earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering & Business Management from the University of Michigan, where he remains actively involved on a philanthropic and volunteer basis. Don was inducted into the University of Michigan Engineering Honorary Societies; Pi Tau Sigma and Sigma Rho Tau. Don has served on the President’s Advisory Group for four University Presidents, founded the University’s Graham Sustainability Institute and the Graham Graduate Entrepreneurial Studies Program, and has actively supported numerous programs across the University. He has also received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from both York College of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan and is an Honorary Penn State Alumnus.

A committed supporter of educational, community, cultural and environmental projects, Don has funded programs at many other institutions, including Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, York College of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, Babson College, Burke Mountain Academy, and YSC Academy.

Don has been active in many professional groups, including the Young Presidents’ Organization, Chief Executives Organization, World Business Council, American Business Council, and the Recycling Advisory Council, as well as serving on numerous corporate and philanthropic boards. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame and received the YPO Legends Award. Internationally, Don served as Chairman of the Trustees of the Mpala Wildlife Foundation in Kenya for over 15 years.

Don is married with five children and seventeen grandchildren