William E. Mayer has been involved in private equity investing for more than 45 years and is a co-founder of New York firm Park Avenue Equity. During his 23-year career at First Boston (now Credit Suisse), he held numerous management positions including President and Chief Executive Officer, and he served as Chairman of First Boston’s Investment Committee for eight years.

Mayer was a Professor and Dean of the College of Business at the University of Maryland from 1992 to 1996, during which time it rose to become one of the top 25 ranked business schools in the country. He holds a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from the same university. His academic career also includes a stint as Professor and Dean of the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester.

Currently a member of the board of public companies BlackRock Kelso, DynaVox, Premier and Lee Enterprises, Mayer has served on the boards of many other companies both public and private. He a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the US Vietnam Dialogue Group, and Vice Chairman of the Middle East Investment Initiative.

In presenting a closing address at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Meyer said, “I don’t think any of us could be a good leader on a sustained basis unless we understand ourself. And part of understanding ourself is understanding what it is that makes us different from other people.”