Guest Contributor
The University of Pennsylvania today announced that Ramanan Raghavendran will become Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania effective immediately. Raghavendran succeeds Scott L. Bok, who served as Chair since July 2021, before stepping down in December 2023. Julie Beren Platt, who has been serving as Interim Chair, will return to her role as Vice Chair.
Raghavendran, a Penn alumnus, is the managing partner and co-founder of Amasia, a global venture capital firm focused on climate and sustainability.
“Ramanan Raghavendran is an inspired and inspiring choice for Trustee Board Chair,” said Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson. “With three Penn degrees, devoted University engagement in multiple leadership roles, and professional experience in a rapidly changing business environment, he is poised to partner with other distinguished Trustees to support our University’s important and impactful missions. Ramanan has a history of bridging distance to make a lasting difference, whether between places and people or fields of knowledge.”
“I also thank Vice Chair Julie Beren Platt on behalf of Penn for her extraordinary service as Interim Board Chair,” Jameson added.
“Having worked closely with Ramanan as a member of the Executive Committee, I have seen first-hand his passion for and commitment to Penn. He is someone who listens with intention and invests deeply in relationships,” said Platt. “I am delighted that he will serve as the next Chair of Penn’s Board of Trustees, and I look forward to working alongside him as Vice Chair.”
“I believe great American universities, like the University of Pennsylvania, are the most important repositories of all that defines, and is good and laudable about, our modern civilization. I am honored to take on the role of Chair of Penn’s Board of Trustees,” said Raghavendran. “I am humbled by the trust reposed in me by my fellow Trustees. We are united in supporting the mission of this incredible institution.”
Raghavendran’s career in venture capital and growth equity spans more than 30 years. He has held investing roles at General Atlantic, Insight Partners, TH Lee Putnam Ventures and Kubera Partners. He began his professional career at McKinsey & Company.
Dedicated to public service, Raghavendran currently serves on the board of SF Goodwill. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University. He has been a seed funder and board member of several NGOs over the last three decades, and maintains a close affiliation with Magic Bus, which works with 500,000 at-risk children in South Asia.
Raghavendran became a University Trustee in 2014, was appointed Chair of the Local, National and Global Engagement Committee in 2020, and joined the Executive Committee in 2022. He has served on the School of Arts and Sciences Board of Advisors since 2012, becoming Chair in 2022. Raghavendran is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for the Advanced Study of India and the Global Coordinator of the Penn Alumni Ambassador Program.
Raghavendran resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family. He holds three Penn degrees, earning a BSE in Computer Science and Engineering from Penn Engineering and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School and a Master of Liberal Arts from Penn Arts and Sciences. He is currently enrolled in Stanford University’s Master of Liberal Arts program.
This story was written by Ron Ozio and originally appeared in Penn Today.