Richard C. Blum, the chairman of Blum Capital Partners and founder of the American Himalayan Foundation, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the Brookings Institution. Blum was elected at the board’s November meeting.
“Dick Blum is an especially welcome addition to our Board. His business acumen is matched by his leadership in philanthropy. His generosity and commitment to Brookings have enabled us to launch the Brookings Global Poverty Reduction Initiative, which is less than a year old but has already influenced the congressional and public debate over President Bush’s pledge to increase U.S. foreign assistance after September 11,” said Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution.
John L. Thornton, chairman of the board, said, “Electing Dick to our board was a natural step. He’s already an enthusiastic supporter of Brookings research, and his guidance will be important as our scholars continue to focus on the problems of global poverty.”
Blum began his investment career in 1958 at Sutro & Co., Inc. When he departed Sutro in 1975, Blum was a senior partner, major stockholder, and member of the executive committee. Blum founded Capital Partners, a strategic value investment firm, in 1975. Blum is co-chairman of Newbridge Capital, which is a major private equity investor in Asia. He is also chairman of CB Richard Ellis and vice chairman of Astar Air Cargo, Inc.
Blum serves as a director on a number of boards, including Glenborough Realty Trust, Inc., Korea First Bank, Northwest Airlines, Playtex Products, and URS Corporation, and has been involved in numerous philanthropic organizations that address poverty and development issues. He is the founder and chairman of the American Himalayan Foundation, which provides vital health care, educational, environmental, and social services throughout the Himalayan region. Blum is a director of the Carter Center, co-chairman of the World Council on Religion and Peace, and serves on the boards of the World Wildlife Fund, the Wilderness Society, and the Glide Foundation. He is also a regent of the University of California.
Blum received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and has studied at the University of Vienna. He is married to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and has four daughters and five grandchildren.
The Brookings Institution is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis, education, and publication focused on public policy issues in the areas of economics, foreign policy, and governance. The Board of Trustees, the Institution’s voluntary oversight group, is comprised of corporate executives, academic leaders, and former government officials and is responsible for the general administration of the Institution. It is charged with ensuring the highest caliber of scholarship and preserving the independent studies for which the Institution is known.