Ford Foundation Appoints Gabrielle Sulzberger to Board of Trustees

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Jul 07, 2016, 12:17 ET

NEW YORK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Ford Foundation announced today that Gabrielle Sulzberger has been elected to serve as a member of its Board of Trustees.

Sulzberger is a general partner and investment manager of Rustic Canyon/Fontis Partners, L.P., a private equity fund based in Pasadena. With over 20 years of experience in financial services, Sulzberger brings a valuable perspective to the foundation's board at a time of visionary change.

"I'm thrilled to announce the appointment of Gaby Sulzberger to the Ford Board of Trustees," said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. "Gaby has deep expertise in areas of importance to Ford, and will provide measured oversight of the foundation's finance, investments and operations. And her personal journey as an African-American woman from inner-city Trenton, New Jersey to Princeton University, Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School is a story of intelligence, grit, and determination. Her life experience gives her an understanding of the foundation's deep commitment to reducing inequality and promoting social mobility."

Sulzberger was previously chief financial officer at numerous financial and retail companies, including Crown Services, Gluecode Software, and Villanueva Companies. She was a principal with several private equity funds such as the New York-based firms BE/Greenwich Street Capital and HPB Associates, and the Boston-based Commonwealth Enterprise Fund and UNC Partners. She also served as interim CEO of Johnson Products Company.

A testament to her trailblazing and successful career path in finance, Sulzberger brings a wealth of experience as an investor with service on board governance and audit committees. Named one of 2014's 100 most influential people in the boardroom community by NACD Directorship Magazine, she sits on several boards including Whole Foods Market, Inc., Brixmor Property Group, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. She previously served on the board of directors at Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Stage Stores, Inc., and Boston Children's Museum.

"The Ford Foundation has been at the vanguard of social change for years, and I am honored to have been asked to serve on its board," she said. "With such a unique legacy, and a vital mission that resonates with my own experiences, it's a real privilege to join the foundation in its fight against inequality."

Currently a member of the Massachusetts Bar, Sulzberger graduated with a bachelor's degree from Princeton University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Ford Foundation trustees are elected by the full board and serve six-year terms. Trustees set broad policy relating to grantmaking, geographic focus, investments, governance and professional standards, and they oversee internal and independent audits. The foundation's trustees hail from four continents and have extensive experience in the worlds of higher education, business and finance, technology, law, government and the nonprofit sector.

SOURCE Ford Foundation