Douglas Braunstein '83, founder and managing partner of Hudson Executive Capital, jokes that he owes his career in investment banking, in part, to The New York Times.
As a student at ILR, and then at Harvard Law School, he expected to become an academic.
Failure to get a clerkship with a Supreme Court justice, however, derailed his dreams of becoming a law professor.
Then, he read a story in The New York Times about lawyers becoming investment bankers. Soon after that, he “stumbled into a position at First Boston and a remarkably rewarding 30-year career.”
Braunstein moved to Merrill Lynch and then JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he spent 18 years in positions such as chief financial officer and vice chairman.
In 2015, he co-founded Hudson Executive Capital, a hedge fund dedicated to constructive engagement. Forty current and former CEOs of publicly traded companies serve as both advisers and investors.
To date, Braunstein has worked on transactions exceeding a trillion dollars.
The 2009 Alpern Award winner, Braunstein serves on Cornell’s board of trustees and its investment and finance committees. He is also a member of the ILR Dean’s Advisory Council.
In 2011, he established ILR’s Braunstein Family Professorship, held by labor economist Lawrence Kahn.
The family’s ties to Cornell are many: Braunstein’s two brothers graduated from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; his nephew is a Dyson School graduate; and his son is a current ILR student.
Braunstein lectures on campus several times a year.
“Engaging with students, serving as a university trustee, helping the university raise money — these are things I feel privileged to be able to do,” he said.