Syracuse University today announced that Kenneth A. Pontarelli ’92, a dedicated alumnus and a respected leader in global investing and finance who joined the board in 2021, has been selected to lead the University’s Board of Trustees, succeeding current Board Chair Jeffrey M. Scruggs, whose term concludes in May 2027. The members of the Board of Trustees selected Pontarelli as Board Chairman-Elect at their Nov. 6, 2026, meeting.

Pontarelli has a deep connection to Syracuse University as an alumnus, donor and parent of two Syracuse graduates. He earned dual bachelor’s degrees in 1992, in finance from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and in economics from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School in 1997.

“I am deeply honored and grateful to have been selected by my fellow trustees to serve as board chairman,” says Pontarelli. “Syracuse University changed the course of my life, opening doors and opportunities that I could not have imagined when I arrived on campus as a student. Having worked alongside Chancellor Haynie and so many dedicated members of the Orange community, I know how committed we all are to the University’s mission. I am eager to build on the strong foundation Jeff Scruggs and other past chairs have laid and to help ensure that Syracuse continues to deliver an extraordinary education and meaningful opportunities for every student.”

“Ken has been an outstanding trustee since the day he joined the board,” says Scruggs. “He brings sharp financial judgment, a pragmatic approach to solving problems and a deep love for Syracuse University. He also understands what it means to give back, and his generosity to the University has had a real impact on our students. I have complete confidence in Ken’s ability to lead the board.”

“Ken is the kind of trustee every university hopes to have—thoughtful, engaged and focused on results,” says Chancellor J. Michael Haynie. “His experience in finance and investing, his commitment to students and his belief in the power of a Syracuse education make him exceptionally well suited to lead the board at this important time for the University. I am grateful for his service and look forward to working with him in the years ahead.”

Pontarelli chairs the board’s Investment and Endowment Committee, a role he will hold until he takes over as board chair in May 2027, and also serves on the Executive and Academic Affairs Committees. In 2024, he received the Dritz Rookie Trustee of the Year Award. He is a member of the Whitman Advisory Council and is a recipient of the Maxwell School’s Centennial Luminary Award for Sustainability.

Pontarelli and his wife, Tracey, have been leading supporters of sustainability education at Syracuse University. Their gifts established the Kenneth Pontarelli Goldman Sachs Endowed Scholarship Fund in the Whitman School to support student financial aid. They funded a five-year professorship, which helped create a joint master’s degree in sustainable organizations and policy from the Maxwell and Whitman schools, and later supported the Dynamic Sustainability Lab. Their most recent gift endowed the Pontarelli Professorship in Environmental Sustainability and Finance in the Maxwell School, as well as the Pontarelli Speaker Series, also in Maxwell.

Pontarelli retired at year-end 2025 as a partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs, where he led the firm’s private equity sustainability investing efforts within its Asset Management Division. He joined Goldman in 1992 as an investment banking analyst and moved to its private equity business in 1999 to help build its energy and natural resources investing unit. He became a managing director in 2004 and a partner in 2006, and he was chief investment officer of one of its private equity funds before leaving the firm in 2017. From 2018 to 2020, he founded and served as chief investment officer of Mission Driven Capital Partners, a firm focused on sustainability investing, before later returning to Goldman. He was named to the Forbes list of Top 50 Dealmakers in 2012 and 2013. He has served as a director of several New York Stock Exchange-listed corporations and is currently chairman of a privately held business.

Pontarelli lives in New York City with Tracey; they have three children: Charlotte ’24 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), Brody ’25 (David B. Falk College of Sport) and Tess.