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 manages an endowment-style portfolio of investments in marketable securities and alternative investment funds for The Graham Group, while also overseeing Graham Engineering and Graham Architectural. Graham Partners and Inverness Graham are independent Registered Investment Advisors, managing committed capital under private equity structures for institutional investors, including leading university endowments, charitable foundations and pension funds. Graham Software Development and Striker Partners manage internal Graham Group 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 currently serves on the President’s Advisory Group for the University, founded the University’s Graham Sustainability Institute, and serves as an active volunteer in several areas including the University’s College of Engineering and Athletic Department. 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 and York College of Pennsylvania (including the Graham Business School and the Graham Innovation Scholars Program), Penn State York (including the Graham Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies), the University of Pennsylvania (including the Penn Museum), the York YMCA’s Graham Aquatic Center, and Burke Mountain Academy (including the Graham Family Endowment).

Don has been active in many professional groups including the Young Presidents Organization, Chief Executive Officers, World Business Council, American Business Council, and the Recycling Advisory Council, and has served on numerous corporate and philanthropic boards including chair of the Board of Trustees of the Mpala Foundation in Kenya, which is involved in a health clinic, school, research center, ranch, and wildlife conservancy. He is a member of the Plastics Hall of Fame and recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers.

Don is married with five children and seventeen grandchildren.