Jonathan F. Foster became a trustee in September 2008 after being nominated by Governor David Paterson and confirmed by the New York State Senate to a five-year term. He served as vice chairman of the board from 2009 to 2012..
Mr. Foster is an experienced investment banker and private equity investor who also has significant board of directors and operating experience. He is founder and a managing director of Current Capital, a private equity and portfolio company management firm focused on lower middle market and smaller industrial and business services companies. He is a director of companies, including Masonite Inc., a global building products manufacturer; Lear Corporation, a supplier of automotive seating systems and electrical power management systems worldwide traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE); and Chemtura Corporation, an international specialty chemicals company also traded on the NYSE.
Mr. Foster was executive vice president – Finance & Business Development for Revolution Living, one of three business groups in the Revolution family of companies founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case, and a managing director and member of the Investment and Management Committees at The Cypress Group, a $3.5 billion private equity investment firm where he led the General Industrial & Services effort. He also has management experience having been executive vice president – chief operating officer & chief financial officer of toysrus.com. Mr. Foster has extensive investment banking expertise with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions advisory work. He was a managing director and co-head of Diversified Industrials & Services at Wachovia Securities, a senior managing director at Bear Stearns & Co. where he ran the Industrial Products & Services Mergers & Acquisitions effort, and spent more than 10 years at Lazard, ultimately as a managing director.
Mr. Foster has a BBA in accounting from Emory University, a Msc in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics and attended the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program “Making Boards More Effective.”
