Four corporate leaders named board trustees

At their June meeting, members of the University Board of Trustees elected four corporate leaders to serve as University trustees. Those newly elected to the board are Rodney Goldstein, Steven Kersten (J.D.,’80), Gregory Wendt (A.B.,’83) and Jon Winkelried (A.B.,’81, M.B.A.,’82).

Goldstein is chairman and managing director of Frontenac Company, a 33-year-old private equity investment firm based in Chicago. He joined the company in 1981.

A graduate of Princeton University, Goldstein then received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Frontenac, he was a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton Inc.

In addition to serving on the boards of directors of Frontenac-sponsored companies in marketing services, labor outsourcing and publishing markets, Goldstein is a member of the board of AptarGroup Inc., TrialGraphix Inc., and National System Inc.

He has been a director of numerous Frontenac portfolio investments, including Consolidated Stores Corporation; DeVry Inc.; Levy Restaurants; Lighthouse Global Network Inc.; ProMach Inc.; and Whitehall Jewelers Inc. Goldstein also serves on the advisory board of Blue Chip Capital, Cincinnati, Ohio, and formerly served as a director of the National Venture Capital Association. He is a member of the Commercial and Economic Clubs of Chicago, serves as Chair of High Jump and is involved as a trustee in a number of civic and philanthropic endeavors.

Goldstein is a Trustee of the University of Chicago Medical Center and a member of the University’s Cancer Research Foundation. He led the volunteer committee for the construction of the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, and in 2005 he participated as a panelist at the Graduate School of Business management conference. Goldstein is involved as a trustee in a number of other civic and philanthropic endeavors, as is his wife, Keith Kiley Goldstein.

Kersten is president of Water Saver Faucet Company, the largest worldwide manufacturer of laboratory faucets and related equipment. He also serves as president of Guardian Equipment Inc., a private Chicago-based company that manufactures laboratory safety equipment.

After graduating with a B.A. from Harvard University, Kersten enrolled at Chicago’s Law School and received his J.D. in 1980. He worked as an Associate at Mayer, Brown and Platt until 1985, when he joined Water Saver Faucet Company, which his father, Samuel, had established in 1947.

A current member of the Physical Sciences Division Visiting Committee and former member of the Law School Visiting Committee, Kersten volunteers for service to the University through a variety of activities, including serving on the Chicago Regional Planning Cabinet for the Chicago Initiative, and two Law School Reunion committees. He and his wife, Priscilla, are members of the Harper Society Founder’s Circle.

In addition to his involvement with the University, he serves as vice president and director of Business and Professional People for the Public Interest.

Wendt is senior vice president of Capital Research Company, a division of Capital Group Inc. and one of the country’s largest mutual fund management companies.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in Economics in 1983 from the University, Wendt went on to earn an M.B.A. in 1987 from Harvard University. He then joined Capital Research Company as a portfolio manager and investment analyst.

He serves on the board of directors of Teach For America, and is an Advisory Board member of San Francisco’s Larkin Street Youth Center and a Senior Fellow at the Salzburg Seminar, a center for study and intellectual exchange. Wendt also serves as chairman of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in San Francisco. In 2000, he married the former Lisa Roets in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

During his time at the University, Wendt was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and a resident of Shoreland Hall. He has since become actively engaged in volunteer service at the University, working on several Reunion committees, participating as a speaker at College retreats and contributing time as an interviewer for the Alumni Schools Committee.

Wendt is a member of the College Visiting Committee and the San Francisco Regional Campaign Cabinet, as well as vice chair of the College Campaign Council along with University Trustees Michael Klingensmith and Paul Yovovich.

Winkelried, who has been with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. his entire career, is president and co-chief operating officer for the investment firm. Working primarily in the high-yield bonds and leveraged-loans markets, he was named co-head of Goldman’s Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division, one of the company’s primary business units, in May 2000. In early 2005, he was named co-head of the firm’s Investment Banking Group. Winkelried was named in June to his current post as president and co-chief operating officer. He also is a member of the firm’s 26-member management committee.

During his undergraduate years in the College, Winkelried was a member of Phi Gamma Delta, a resident of Pierce Hall and received the Order of the ‘C’ in baseball. After receiving his A.B. in Business, he enrolled in the Graduate School of Business and earned his M.B.A. in 1982. He is a former member of the Council on the Graduate School of Business and has volunteered his time as an interviewer for the Alumni Schools Committee.

Winkelried and his wife, Abby, received the Masorti Olami Humanitarian Award in November 2005, for philanthropic and community leadership.

They both are actively involved with many not-for-profit organizations, including the American Jewish Committee, the American School in London, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, the Nantucket Sustainable Development Corporation, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the United Jewish Appeal.