JAMES A. STERN

 

Jim Stern is Chairman and Founder of The Cypress Group, a New York based private equity firm that manages funds in excess of $3.5 billion.

Prior to founding The Cypress Group in 1994, Jim had a twenty-year career with Lehman Brothers. He joined the firm in 1974 as an associate in investment banking. In 1982 he was named Managing Director with responsibility for Lehman’s corporate financing activities. In 1988, he joined the firm’s management committee and became co-head of investment banking. He was named head of merchant banking in 1989.

Jim serves on the boards of directors of a number of corporations including AMTROL, Inc., WESCO International, Inc., Lear Corporation, and Cinemark USA, Inc. He is also a board member of several charitable and philanthropic organizations including the Jewish Museum and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Jim graduated from Tufts University in 1972 with a degree in civil engineering and earned an MBA from Harvard in 1974. He was first elected to the Tufts University Board of Trustees in 1982, at age 32 the youngest person to attain this office. He served in several leadership capacities, including Vice Chair of the Board, chair of the Committee for University Advancement, co-chair of Tufts Tomorrow, the University’s successful $600 million capital campaign, chair of the Investment Committee, and member of the Executive Committee, before his election as Chair of the Board of Trustees in November 2003.