Origins S2-E2: Thomas Lenehan — Rockefeller University
We’re really excited to announce a new episode of Origins with Thomas Lenehan, the deputy chief investment officer at Rockefeller University, helping to manage all aspects of the $2 billion endowment. Previously, Tom was at Commonfund Capital, where he focused on manager commitments in the private equity, venture capital and natural resources sectors. Before that he worked for San Francisco-based Vista Equity Partners and Goldman Sachs.
Rockefeller University is a special NYC institution, and their mission is simple: “Science for the benefit of humanity.” Rockefeller graduates more than 30 freshly minted PhD students each year, all tuition free. And so Tom’s perspective on the venture ecosystem is unique compared to other guests we’ve had on Origins, particularly given his role managing a science university’s endowment, which funds both their ongoing mission and operations.
In this episode, we discuss how Tom thinks about managing endowment funds, how that compares to other LP roles he’s had in the past, and committing to the private markets and venture capital for the long-term through cycles, good and bad.
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— Nick + Alex
