J-P Conte

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Jean Pierre Conte
Conte in 2017
Born
New York City, US

Jean-Pierre Conte is an American businessman and philanthropist involved in educational equity, immigration reform and conservation.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Conte is chairman and managing partner of the private equity firm Genstar Capital LLC, having overseen the company's growth to approximately $49 billion of assets under management as of April 2023.[8][9][10] [11]

He is the founder of the Conte Initiative on Immigration Reform at the Hoover Institute, Stanford University, formerly chaired by the author and Republican economist Tim Kane.[12]

Early life[edit]

Jean-Pierre Conte was born in Brooklyn and raised in the New York area to French and Cuban immigrant parents.[13][14] His father, Pierre A. Conte, who grew up during the Nazi occupation of France, worked as a tailor and clothing salesman on Wall Street.[15][16] His father had witnessed atrocities perpetrated against the French at the hands of the German SS, whose headquarters were located opposite his school, and later moved to the US at the age of 18.[17] His mother, Isabel Conte, left Cuba after experiencing both the communist and dictatorial Batista regimes, later settling in Brooklyn.[17][18]

After graduating from high school, Conte went on to gain a bachelor's degree from Colgate University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was voted 22nd of Harvard Business School's top 100 most successful finance and investing graduates in 2021 by Alumni Spotlight.[19]

Career[edit]

Conte started his career at Chase Manhattan Bank, NYC, in 1985, before entering the private equity sector after graduating from Harvard Business School in 1989.[20]

In 1995, Conte joined Genstar Capital and is Chairman and Managing Partner. In these roles he is in charge of acquisitions, divestitures and the supervision of portfolio companies. During his tenure, Genstar had grown to have approximately $49 billion of assets under management and targets investments in financial services, healthcare, industrials, and software industries.[13][21][22]

Since late 2022, Conte is on the board of Eagle Football Holdings LLC, investing in various soccer clubs including Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon (Ligue 1), Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro (Series A), and Crystal Palace, London (Premier League).[23][24]

Conte is a director of ConnectiveRx and Signant Health and Advarra.[21]

Philanthropy[edit]

Conte's financial support for philanthropic causes has a focus on educational equity, neuroscience, sustainability and conservation and civic freedom.[17][25][26] Conte has founded the J-P Conte Family Foundation in 2017 with the 'aims of improving educational equity for young people, protecting the environment, and upholding freedom'.[3][27][28][29]

After his father, Pierre Conte, died from Parkinson's disease in 2017, Conte refocused his philanthropic financial portfolio to fund and promote research into neuro-degenerative disorders.[30][17] In 2018, the J-P Conte Family Foundation made a funding pledge to the neuroscience department of UCSF Foundation (University of California, San Francisco), where he is on the board of directors.[31][32] Conte also sits on the board of the California Pacific Medical Center.[33]

Conte is on the board of Pepperwood Preserve, having provided funding to the organization to support their work on preserving and conserving the environment in Sonoma.[34][26] Conte is on the board of the Pan American Development Fund, with the aim of providing education and opportunity for disadvantaged communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.[35]

In 2015, Conte was one of the lead donors on the Bay Lights; an $8m project to illuminate the San Francisco Bay Bridge via the permanent installation of lights on the bridge's wires.[36] In 2017 Conte was part of a group of private equity investors that raised $25 million to help Puerto Rico recover from the hurricane that devastated the island in September of that year.[32][37]

Political views and advocacy[edit]

While Conte does not hold membership or singular support for any US political party, he supports protecting what he perceives as ‘American values and exceptionalism’.[16][6]

Conte serves on the Hoover Institution Board of Overseers and established the Conte Task Force on Immigration Reform. Co-chaired by Edward Lazear and Tim Kane, the Task Force "aimed to improve immigration policies by providing innovative ideas and economic data proving that immigration has been and will continue to be a piston of economic growth for the USA."[12]

Conte also provides funding to the wider Hoover Institution in general, stating that he ‘believes that further education is the strongest ladder to success in any capitalist society’.[38][39]

Personal life[edit]

Conte lives in California with his four children, William, Peter, Louisa and Sophie, and travels frequently, stating in 2018 interview that "I believe that as a parent, part of the mission is to teach your children about the world and different cultures." He enjoys biking, sailing, skiing and hiking with his family and friends in his free time.[40][41]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "JP Conte". www.gencap.com. August 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  2. ^ "JP Conte Foundation". www.jpcontefoundation.com. August 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2019.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b "J-P Conte Family Foundation - Donate on ALMA".[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Jean-Pierre L. Conte". Inside Philanthropy.
  5. ^ "J P Conte — Wall Street Donors Guide".
  6. ^ a b Claridge, Dale (March 30, 2019). "J-P Conte: A Very American Philanthropist | Dale Claridge".
  7. ^ "J-P Conte Family Foundation - Freedom, education and environment". J-P Conte Family Foundation.
  8. ^ "Genstar Capital Closes Fund X and Affiliated Opportunities Fund at USD11.7bn". 6 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Private Equity for Middle Market Companies".
  10. ^ Capital, Genstar. "Genstar Capital Closes Fund XI With $12.6 Billion of Committed Capital". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  11. ^ "Genstar Capital's Conte to Back Takeover of Lyon Football Team". Bloomberg.com. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  12. ^ a b "Immigration Reform". Hoover Institution.
  13. ^ a b "A free market brings freedom. Just look at what could be without a strong market ǀ View". euronews. November 6, 2019.
  14. ^ "2017 Commencement Address by Jean-Pierre Conte P '17". 29 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Conte Family History".[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ a b "Business Leaders - Jean-Pierre Conte - Business Leaders (podcast)". Listen Notes.
  17. ^ a b c d "History of The Conte Family Foundation".
  18. ^ "Genstar Capital's Conte to Back Takeover of Lyon Football Team". Bloomberg.com. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  19. ^ https://alumnispotlight.com/2021/01/14/the-top-100-harvard-business-school-alumni-in-finance/ | Alumni Spotlight HBS 100 2021, Alumni Spotlight. March 29, 2021.
  20. ^ "Jean-Pierre L Conte, Genstar Capital LLC: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.
  21. ^ a b "Jean-Pierre Conte".
  22. ^ Capital, Genstar. "Genstar Capital Closes Fund XI With $12.6 Billion of Committed Capital". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  23. ^ "Genstar Capital's Conte to Back Takeover of Lyon Football Team". Bloomberg.com. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  24. ^ "U.S. Investor Textor Moves Closer to Lyon Football Club Deal". www.themiddlemarket.com. 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  25. ^ "Changemakers Award in Education Presented to San Francisco Business Leader".
  26. ^ a b "J P Conte — Wall Street Donors Guide". Inside Philanthropy.
  27. ^ "J-P Conte Family Foundation - Freedom, education and environment".
  28. ^ "10,000 Degrees | Corporations & Foundations". Archived from the original on 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  29. ^ Francisco, SEO Scholars San. "SEO Scholars San Francisco Raised Over $4M In Support of Bay Area High School Students". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  30. ^ "Pierre Conte Obituary - San Francisco, CA | San Francisco Chronicle". Legacy.com.
  31. ^ "Coming together to fight degenerative brain disorders". April 2, 2019.
  32. ^ a b "The Son of Immigrants: The Personal Forces Behind a Private Equity Guy's Giving".
  33. ^ "Board of Trustees | CPMC Foundation | Sutter Health". www.sutterhealth.org.
  34. ^ "Jean-Pierre Conte | Pepperwood Preserve".
  35. ^ "Board of Trustees". Pan American Development Foundation | PADF. Archived from the original on 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  36. ^ "About". June 30, 2017.
  37. ^ Carey, David. "Investor Bravo Raises $25 Million for Puerto Rico Relief". Bloomberg.
  38. ^ Hoover Institution. "2016 Annual Report" (PDF). Hoover Institution.
  39. ^ "Overseers". Hoover Institution.
  40. ^ "Wealthy parents want meaningful travel". The Globe and Mail. 14 February 2011.
  41. ^ "About".
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