Deval Patrick, former two-term governor of Massachusetts and impact investment leader, has joined The Vistria Group as senior advisor. The Vistria Group invests in essential industries like healthcare, knowledge and learning, financial services and real estate that deliver value for investors, communities, employees and consumers. Patrick will leverage his expertise across fundraising, deal sourcing, and portfolio performance to further The Vistria Group’s goals of achieving both strong financial returns and significant social impact. Patrick is a pioneer in impact investing, having launched Bain Capital Double Impact, the first such fund in a major investment firm, in 2015 after leaving the governor’s office.
“As a true believer in impact investing, a long-time friend of the firm, and a Chicago native, I’m excited by the opportunity to work with The Vistria Group,” Patrick said. “Like the founders, I believe that private capital should be the engine for innovation and prosperity, and that’s what The Vistria Group is all about. I look forward to working with the team to build upon their impressive record of generating superior outcomes for investors and broader stakeholders alike.”
Patrick brings extensive public and private sector experience to The Vistria Group. After serving as a staff attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, a partner in two Boston law firms, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration, and a senior executive at both Texaco and Coca-Cola, Patrick was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2006. In his two terms as the governor of Massachusetts, he focused on job growth, healthcare expansion, education reform, transportation infrastructure improvements, and far-reaching climate initiatives. Under his leadership, the commonwealth emerged from the Great Recession with nation-leading outcomes in employment, healthcare coverage, student achievement and energy efficiency.
More recently, in addition to his work at Bain Capital, Patrick has been a professor of practice and co-director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.
Deval Patrick was raised on Chicago’s South Side. As an eighth grader, he earned a scholarship to a boarding school outside Boston and eventually graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He also clerked for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Patrick is a Rockefeller Fellow, a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, the author of two books, and the recipient of twenty honorary degrees. He will split his time between western Massachusetts and Chicago where a block on Wabash Avenue, where he was born and raised, is named in his honor.
