Wilbur Ross, CEO of WL Ross & Co. LLC, may be one of the best known private equity investors in the U.S. His private equity funds bought Bethlehem Steel and several other bankrupt producers and revitalized them into the largest U.S. producer before merging them into Mittal Steel for $4.5 billion. Mr. Ross remains a Director of what is now ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company. He also created and chairs International Coal Group; International Textile Group, the most global American company in that industry; and International Auto Components Group, a $4.5 billion producer of instrument panels and other interior components, operating in 17 countries; Compagnie Europeenne de Wagons Sarl, the largest rail car leasing company in Europe, and American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., the second largest servicer of subprime mortgages. He is a member of the Boards of Assured Guaranty, BankUnited and Greenbrier Companies, all NYSE-listed, of PLASCAR listed in Brazil, and Sun Bancorp which is traded over the counter.
Ross was Executive Managing Director of Rothschild Inc. for 24 years before acquiring that firm's private equity partnerships in 2000. He is a Board Member of Yale University School of Management, Partnership for New York City, Palm Beach Civic Association, Business Roundtable, Harvard Business School Club of New York, The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, The Harvard University Committee on University Resources, BritishAmerican Business, The Blenheim American Foundation, Palm Beach Preservation Foundation and the Chairman's Council of the U.S./India Business Council. He is Chairman of the Japan Society and Chairman of Palm Beach Firefighters Retirement Fund. President Kim Dae Jung awarded him a medal for his assistance in Korea's financial crisis, President Clinton appointed him to the Board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund and he served as Privatization Advisor to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. China Institute has presented him with its Blue Cloud Award. Ross formerly served as Chairman of the Smithsonian Institution National Board.
Ross is a graduate of Yale University and of Harvard Business School (with distinction). He is the only person elected both to the Private Equity Hall of Fame and the Turnaround Management Association Hall of Fame.
