Founders •
James Altucher (B.S. 1989, Computer Science) – founder of Reset Inc., StockPickr •
Richard Baker (B.S. 1988, hotel administration) – founder, president, and CEO of
NRDC Equity Partners and
Hudson's Bay Company, the owner of
Saks Fifth Avenue,
Gilt Groupe,
Lord & Taylor,
The Bay,
Home Outfitters,
Zellers, and
Fields •
André Balazs (class of 1979) – hotelier and businessman •
Aldo Bensadoun (attended, transferred) – billionaire founder and executive chairman of the
ALDO Group •
Amit Bhatia (B.S. 2001) – founder of Swordfish Investments; vice chairman of
Queen's Park Rangers •
Daniel Cane (B.S. 1997) – co-founder of
Blackboard Inc. •
Willis Carrier (M.E. 1901) – founder of
Carrier Corporation; inventor of
air conditioning •
Gerald Cassidy (J.D. 1967) – co-founder and CEO of
Cassidy & Associates •
Steve Conine (B.S. 1995) – billionaire co-founder of
Wayfair •
Joseph Coors (B.Chem. 1939, chemical engineering 1940) – co-founder of
The Heritage Foundation •
Mac Cummings (B.A. 2001) – co-founder of Terakeet Corporation; director of Internet Finance •
Tom Dinwoodie (B.S. 1978, civil and environmental engineering) – Cleantech entrepreneur, inventor, and founder of
SunPower Corporation Systems (formerly PowerLight Corporation) •
Ira Drukier (B.S. 1966 engineering) – hotelier and philanthropist, donated US$25 million in December 2014 to establish the Drukier Institute for Children's Health at the
Weill Cornell Medical College •
David Duffield (B.E.E. 1962, M.B.A. 1964) – billionaire co-founder of
PeopleSoft and
Workday •
John S. Dyson (B.S. 1965) – creator of the "I Love NY" campaign; owner of Millbrook Vineyards and Winery •
David Edgerton (B.A. 1947, hotel administration) – co-founder of
Burger King Corporation •
David Einhorn (B.A. 1991) – founder and president of
Greenlight Capital; billionaire hedge fund manager •
Chuck Feeney (B.S. 1956 hotel administration) – co-founder of
Duty Free Shoppers Group; founder and director of
Atlantic Philanthropies; founder of
General Atlantic; billionaire philanthropist who has given away more than $8 billion •
Russell W. Galbut (B.S. 1974 hotel administration) – co-founder of Crescent Heights, a real estate development company •
Frank Gannett (B.A. 1898) – founder of
Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher; namesake of Gannett Health Center •
Art Gensler (B.Arch. 1958) – founder and chairman of
Gensler •
Stephen Gilfus (B.S. 1997) – co-founder of
Blackboard Inc. sold to Providence Equity for $1.6 billion. •
Paul Graham (B.A.) – co-founder of
Viaweb, sold for $46.6 million to
Yahoo! and became Yahoo! Stores;
Lisp programmer, author, founder of
Y-Combinator •
Leroy Grumman (B.S. 1916 mechanical engineering) – founder of
Grumman Aerospace Corporation; recipient of the
Medal for Merit (1948) •
Myra Hart (B.A. 1962, M.B.A. 1981, trustee, 1999–) – one of four co-founders of
Staples, Inc.; professor at
Harvard Business School •
Jeff Hawkins (B.S. 1979 electrical engineering) – founder of
Palm, Inc. and
Handspring; inventor of the
Palm Pilot; member of the
National Academy of Engineering (2003) •
Christopher Hemmeter (B.S. 1962, hotel administration) – founder and chairman of Hemmeter Companies •
Irwin M. Jacobs (B.E.E. 1956) – billionaire, co-founder and chairman of
Qualcomm;
UCSD and
MIT engineering professor, pioneer of
CDMA wireless technology, philanthropist; recipient of numerous awards including
National Medal of Technology and Innovation (1994),
Marconi Prize (2011),
IEEE Medal of Honor (2013); member of the
National Academy of Engineering (1982) •
Stephen A. Jarislowsky (B.S. 1946 mechanical engineering) – billionaire businessman and philanthropist; founder, chairman, and CEO of Jarislowsky Fraser Limited •
Seth Klarman (B.A. 1979) – founder and chairman of the
Baupost Group; hedge fund manager, billionaire •
Jules Kroll (B.A. 1963) – founder of
Kroll Inc. and the modern investigations, intelligence, and security industry; responsible for tracking the assets of
Jean-Claude Duvalier,
Ferdinand and
Imelda Marcos, and
Saddam Hussein •
Robert S. Langer (B.S. 1970, chemical engineering) – founder of
Moderna •
David Litman (1979, 1982) – founder and CEO of
Hotels.com •
Yossi Maiman – founder and owner of the Merhav Group, a shareholder of the East Mediterranean Gas Company, and former chairman, chief executive officer and president of the
Ampal-American Israel Corporation •
James McLamore (B.A. 1947, hotel administration) – co-founder of
Burger King Corporation •
Gary Mendell (B.S. 1979 hotel administration) – founder, chairman, and CEO of
HEI Hotels & Resorts •
Robert Warren Miller (B.S. 1955, hotel administration) – billionaire co-founder of
Duty Free Shoppers Group •
Howard Milstein (B.A. 1973) – billionaire real estate developer, financier, and philanthropist; chairman, president, and chief executive officer of
New York Private Bank & Trust •
Harriet Converse Moody (B.A. 1876) – businesswoman and arts patron •
Jeff Morgan (B.S. City and Regional Planning) – founder of
Global Heritage Fund •
Rohan Murty (B.S. Computer Science) – founder of
Murty Classical Library of India •
Floyd R. Newman (B.S. 1912 chemistry) – founder of Allied Oil Company of Cleveland •
Drew Nieporent (B.S. 1977 hotel administration) – founder of Myriad Restaurant Group •
Franklin W. Olin (B.C.E. 1886) – founder of
Olin Corporation; gave a gift to build Olin Hall in memory of his son Franklin W. Olin Jr. •
John M. Olin (B.S. 1913 chemistry) – founder of
John M. Olin Foundation, president,
Olin Corporation; namesake of Olin Library •
Spencer Truman Olin (B.S. 1921 mechanical engineering) – industrialist and philanthropist; an executive of the
Olin Corporation;
Republican Party leader •
Peter Busch Orthwein (B.S. 1968, MBA 1969) – co-founder and chairman of
Thor Industries •
Nathaniel A. Owings – founding partner of
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (
SOM) •
Tom Peters (B.C.E. 1965, M.C.E. 1966) – business management motivational guru •
Harris Rosen (B.S. 1961 hotel administration) – founder of
Rosen Hotels and Resorts; major donor of
Rosen College of Hospitality Management (which was renamed due to his major donation) •
Rob Ryan (B.A. 1969) – founder and chairman of
Ascend Communications •
William Sanders (B.S. 1964) – founder of LaSalle Partners (later merged to form
Jones Lang LaSalle); founder and chairman of Security Capital Group Incorporated; former chairman of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) •
Niraj Shah (born 1973/74) (B.S. 1995) – billionaire CEO and co-founder of
Wayfair •
Leonard Schleifer (B.S. 1970) – founder and CEO of
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; billionaire •
Seth M. Siegel (B.S. 1974, J. D. 1978) – founder of The Beanstalk Group •
Robert F. Smith (B.S. chemical engineering) – billionaire investor; founder, chairman, and CEO of
Vista Equity Partners; ranked by
Forbes in 2015 as 268th richest man in America, and the second wealthiest African-American •
Elmer Ambrose Sperry – founder of
Sperry Corporation, known for his invention of
Gyrostabilizer and the
Gyrocompass; recipient of
John Fritz Medal (1927) and
Elliott Cresson Medal from the
Franklin Institute (1929), member of the
National Academy of Sciences (1925) •
Clarence W. Spicer (engineering student) – founder of what is now
Dana Holding Corporation; engineer, inventor, known for invention of
Universal joint; inductee into the
Automotive Hall of Fame •
John A. Swanson (B.S. 1962, M.S. 1963) – founder of
ANSYS and
John Fritz Medal winner; member of the
National Academy of Engineering (2009) •
Jake Swirbul (attended) – co-founder of
Grumman Aerospace Corporation •
Michael Tien (B.S. 1972 electrical engineering) – founder and chairman of the apparel retail company
G2000 •
Robert V. Tishman (1937) – founder of
Tishman Speyer Properties •
Robert I. Toll (B.A. 1963) – billionaire, co-founder of
Toll Brothers •
Deena Varshavskaya – founder and CEO of
Wanelo •
Tien Tzuo (B.S. 1990 electrical engineering) – founder and CEO of
Zuora •
Jay Walker (B.S. 1977 industrial relations) – founder of
Priceline.com; founder and chairman of
Walker Digital, a billionaire on Forbes list of the world's billionaires ($1.6 billion in 2000) •
Colston Warne (bachelor's 1920, master's 1921 economics) – co-founder of the
Consumers Union and its
Consumer Reports monthly magazine and served as its president for 43 years; professor of economics at
Amherst College (1930–1969) •
Sanford I. Weill (B.A. 1955 government) – billionaire, former chairman and CEO of
Citigroup; founder of
Shearson Loeb Rhoades, sold for $930 million to
American Express; namesake of
Weill Cornell Medical College •
David F. Welch (Ph.D. 1985 electrical engineering) – co-founder, president of
Infinera Corp; member of the
National Academy of Engineering (2016) •
Justin DuPratt White (1890) – co-founder of
White & Case law firm; trustee of the
Cornell University Board of Trustees (1928–1939) •
John Zimmer (B.S. 2006 hotel administration) – co-founder and COO of
Zimride; co-founder and president of
Lyft Chairpersons, CEOs, and executives •
Keith Barr (B.S. 1992 hotel administration) – CEO of
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) (2017–) •
Carl Bass (B.A. 1983 mathematics) – former CEO and president of
Autodesk (2006–2017) •
Al Bernardin (1952) – creator of the
McDonald's Quarter Pounder; former vice president of Product Development for McDonald's •
Mark Bertolini (MBA 1984) – CEO and president of
Aetna •
Jeffrey Bleustein (B.S. 1960, B.M.E 1961) – chairman and former CEO of
Harley Davidson •
Joseph H. Boardman (B.S. agriculture economics) – president and CEO of
Amtrak (2008–2016), 11th
Federal Railroad administrator (2005–2008),
New York State commissioner of Transportation (1997–2005) •
Val A. Browning (B.S. 1917) – president of
Browning Arms Company and American soldier in
World War I •
Walter S. Carpenter Jr. (undergrad 1906–09, dropped out) – president (1940–48) and chairman (1948–62) of
DuPont •
Abby Joseph Cohen (B.A. 1973 economics and computer science, trustee) – partner and senior investment strategist of
Goldman Sachs; president of Global Markets Institute (GMI), Goldman Sachs •
Jennie Chua (B.S. 1971, hotel administration) – CEO of
Capitaland Residential, former CEO of
Raffles Holdings •
Adolph Coors II (B.A. 1907) – second president of
Coors Brewing Company •
Pete Coors (B.S. 1969 industrial engineering) – executive of
Coors Brewing Company; Senatorial candidate, 2004 •
Luciano Coutinho (Ph.D. economics) – president of the
Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) •
Eric Daniels (B.A. 1973) – former CEO of
Lloyds Banking Group •
Alonzo G. Decker Jr. (B.S. 1929 electrical engineering) – former president, CEO, and chairman of the board of
Black & Decker; known for developing
power tools for use in the home, including the first
cordless electric drill •
Kenneth T. Derr (B.S. 1959 mechanical engineering, M.B.A. 1960, trustee) – chairman and CEO of
Chevron, 1989–99 •
Dave Dombrowski (undergrad 1974–75, transferred) – president, CEO, and general manager of the
Detroit Tigers •
Jennifer Dulski (B.A., MBA) – president and chief operating officer of
Change.org •
Henry D. Edelman (J.D. 1973) – president and CEO of
Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) (1989–2008) •
Richard J. Ferris (B.S. 1962) – president and CEO of
United Airlines (1976–1987) •
Reggie Fils-Aimé (B.S. 1983 applied economics) – president and COO of
Nintendo of America (2006–2019) •
J. Patrick Gallagher Jr (B.A. government) – president, CEO and chairman of
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. •
Pawan Kumar Goenka – managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, an Indian multinational automobile manufacturing corporation headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; chairman of SsangYong Motor Company in Korea •
Harvey Golub (attended 1956–1958) – president (1991–1993), chairman and CEO (1993–2001) of
American Express; chairman of the board at the
Campbell Soup Company (2004–2009); chairman of the
American International Group (AIG) (2009–2010); chairman of the board of Advisors of
Miller Buckfire (2011–) •
Byron Grote (Ph.D. 1981 quantitative analysis) – chief financial officer of
BP •
Raj Gupta (M.S. 1969 operations research) – chairman, CEO and president of
Rohm and Haas, chairman of
Delphi Automotive (2015–) •
Robert Harrison (B.A. 1976 government) – CEO of the
Clinton Global Initiative and
chairman of the Cornell University Board of Trustees;
Rhodes Scholar •
Dan Hesse (MBA 1977) – CEO of
Sprint Nextel •
Matthew Hiltzik (B.S. 1994, ILR) – president and CEO of Hiltzik Strategies, a strategic consulting and communications firm •
D. Brainerd Holmes (B.S. 1943 electrical engineering) – best known for directing NASA's crewed spaceflight program from September 1961 to June 1963; president of
Raytheon (1976–1986) and chairman of
Beechcraft; member of the
National Academy of Engineering (1977) •
F. Kenneth Iverson (1946, aeronautical engineering) – president of
Nucor Steel (1967–1998); inductee into the American Metal Market Steel Hall and the American National Business Hall of Fame; recipient of the
National Medal of Technology and Innovation (1991) and member of the
National Academy of Engineering (1994) •
Walter C. Johnsen (B.S 1973, Master of Engineering (chemical) 1974) – chairman and CEO of
Acme United Corporation •
Robert D. Kennedy (B.S. 1954 mechanical engineering) – chairman, president, and CEO of
Union Carbide (1986–1995) •
Shaygan Kheradpir (bachelor's, master's, and doctorate 1979–1987 electrical engineering) – CEO of
Juniper Networks •
Jeff Jacobson (M.S. ILR) – CEO of
Xerox Corporation (2017–) •
Ken Jautz (B.A.) – executive vice president of
CNN; former foreign correspondent for the
Associated Press; former CNN bureau chief in Germany •
Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. (B.A. 1922 chemistry) – president of
S. C. Johnson & Son; benefactor and namesake of the
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on campus •
Herbert Fisk Johnson III (5 Cornell degrees 1979–86) – billionaire, CEO of S. C. Johnson & Son; benefactor and trustee emeritus of Cornell •
Samuel Curtis Johnson Jr. (B.A. 1950 economics) – billionaire, chairman of S. C. Johnson & Son; benefactor and co-namesake of the
S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management •
S. Curtis Johnson (B.S. 1977) – billionaire, former chairman of
Diversey •
Helen Johnson-Leipold (B.A. 1978 psychology) – billionaire businesswoman; chairman of
Johnson Financial Group, chairman and CEO of
Johnson Outdoors •
Winnie Johnson-Marquart (B.S. 1981) – billionaire, president of the Johnson Family Foundation •
Thomas W. Jones (B.A. 1969, M.R.P. 1972, trustee) – principal of TWJ Capital LLC •
Paul L. Joskow (B.A. 1968) – president of the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 2008, economist •
Charles F. Knight (1957, MBA 1959) – chairman (1974–2004), CEO (1973–2000) and president (1986–1988, 1995–1997) of
Emerson Electric Company •
Douglas Leone (B.S. 1979 mechanical engineering) – venture capitalist and partner at
Sequoia Capital; billionaire •
Oscar G. Mayer Jr. (1934) – chairman of
Oscar Mayer •
Timothy Mayopoulos (B.A. 1980) – president and CEO of
Fannie Mae (2012–2018) •
Lowell McAdam (M.E. 1976) – chairman and CEO of
Verizon •
Mary Meeker (MBA 1986 finance) – venture capitalist and former Wall Street securities analyst •
Peter C. Meinig (B.M.E 1962) – chairman and CEO of
HM International, LLC •
Charles N. Mills (B.S. 1983, MBA 1984) – CEO of
Medline Industries (1997–) •
Jon R. Moeller (B.S. 1986, MBA 1988) – CEO of
Procter & Gamble •
Brian A. Murdock (B.S. 1978 economics) – president and CEO of
Strategic Investment Group (2014–) and former chairman and CEO of TD Asset Management (2009–2013) •
Thomas Murphy (B.S. 1945) – former chairman and CEO of
Capital Cities/
ABC, Inc.;
Television Hall of Fame,
NATPE Lifetime Achievement Award (1996) •
Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos (B.A. 1985) – president and COO of Flag Luxury Group •
Lubna Olayan (B.S. 1977) – CEO of Olayan Financing Company, the holding entity for The
Olayan Group's operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East •
Salil Parekh (M.E.) – CEO and managing director of
Infosys (2018–) •
James Wentworth Parker (class of 1908) – president and general manager of
Detroit Edison Company (1943–1951) and of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1942–1943) •
William D. Perez (B.A. 1969 government) – CEO of
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, CEO of
Nike, Inc., 2004–06 •
Victor Peng (MEng, electrical engineering) – president and CEO of
Xilinx (2018–) •
Sandi Peterson (B.A.) – group worldwide chairman for
Johnson & Johnson •
Joseph N. Pew Jr. (M.E. 1908) – vice president (1912–1947) and chairman (1947–1963) of
Sun Oil Company; founder of
The Pew Charitable Trusts; namesake of Pew Engineering Quad •
James Pitaro (B.S. 1991) – president of
ESPN •
Georges Plassat – chairman and chief executive officer of
Carrefour (2012–2017) •
Lewis Platt (B.S. 1964 mechanical engineering) – CEO of
Hewlett-Packard (1992–99); chairman of
Boeing, 2003–05 •
Michael B. Polk (B.S. IEOR) – CEO of
Newell Brands (2011–) •
Robert Purcell – chairman of
Cornell University Board of Trustees (1968–1978) •
Justin Rattner (B.S. 1970 electrical engineering, M.S. 1972 computer science) – chief technology officer of
Intel,
ABC News Person of the Week for his work on the
ASCI Red system (fastest computer in the world, 1996–2000),
R&D Magazines "Scientist of the Year", 1989 •
Bruce S. Raynor (B.S. 1972 industrial & labor relations) – president of
UNITE HERE •
George Rea (1915) – first paid president of the
New York Curb Exchange •
Kevin Reilly (B.A. 1984) – president of
NBC Entertainment (2004–2007), president (2007–2012) and chairman (2012–2014) of entertainment at
Fox, president of
TBS and
TNT (2014–) •
Irene Rosenfeld (B.S. 1975, M.S. 1977, Ph.D. 1980) – CEO and chairwoman of
Kraft Foods •
Frank Rosenfelt (LL.B. 1950) – former CEO of
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studio •
Jon Rubinstein (B.S. 1978, MEng 1979) – CEO of
Palm, Inc.,
Apple SVP 1997–2006; member of the
National Academy of Engineering (2005) •
Demir Sabancı (MBA 1999) – Turkish entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist •
Vicki Saporta (class of 1974) – president and CEO of the
National Abortion Federation (1995–) •
Robert Selander (B.S. 1972) – president and CEO of
MasterCard (1997–2010) •
Daniel Schwartz (B.S. 2001 applied economics and management) – CEO of
Restaurant Brands International (
Burger King Corporation) •
Steven Sinofsky (B.A. 1987) – president of
Windows and
Windows Live Engineering at
Microsoft •
Charles E. Sporck (B.M.E. 1950) – microelectronics pioneer; co-founded the
Semiconductor Industry Association; CEO and president of
National Semiconductor (1967–1991) •
Kyung-Bae Suh (M.B.A. 1987) – chairman, CEO, and owner of
Amorepacific Corporation •
Larry Tanenbaum (B.S. 1968) – chairman,
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment •
Ratan Tata (B.Arch. 1962) – chairman,
Tata Group •
Myron Charles Taylor (LL.B. 1894) – chairman and CEO,
U.S. Steel, namesake of Taylor Hall, and
Medal for Merit recipient •
Walter C. Teagle (B.S. 1899, trustee, 1924–54) – president and chairman of Standard Oil of New Jersey (now
ExxonMobil) and namesake of Teagle Hall •
Andrew Tisch (B.S. 1971, hotel administration) – chairman,
Loews Corporation •
James Tisch (B.A. 1975) – CEO,
Loews Corporation •
Arnold Tremere – executive director, government official (Canadian International Grains Institute) •
Rick Tsai (Ph.D. 1981) – CEO of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company •
Harold Uris (B.S. 1925, trustee 1967–1972) – real estate investor and builder; namesake of Uris Hall •
Sophie Vandebroek (Ph.D.) – chief technology officer of
Xerox and president of Xerox Innovation Group (2006–) •
Charles W. Wason (1876) – president of the Cleveland, Painesville & Eastern Railway Company •
Randi Weingarten (B.S. 1980 ILR) – president of the
United Federation of Teachers (1998−2008) and of the
American Federation of Teachers (2008−) •
Barry Weiss – chairman and CEO of
Island Def Jam and
Universal Motown Republic •
Stephen H. Weiss (class of 1957) – investment banker and philanthropist •
Tim Wentworth (B.S. ILR) – CEO and president of
Express Scripts (2016–) •
Mark Whitacre (Ph.D. nutritional biochemistry) – COO of
Cypress Systems •
Fuganto Widjaja (B.A. 2003) – Indonesian billionaire businessman •
Lynton Wilson (M.A. economics) – president and CEO of
Redpath Industries Ltd. (1981–1988); vice-chairman of the
Bank of Nova Scotia; at various times president, COO, CEO, and chairman of the board of
BCE Inc. (1990–2000); president and CEO of
BCE Inc. (1992–1993); chairman of
Nortel Networks (2000–2005); chairman of
CAE Inc.; chancellor of
McMaster University (2007–2013); Officer of the
Order of Canada; recipient of honorary degrees from six Canadian universities •
Dennis Woodside (B.S. 1991) – CEO of
Motorola Mobility; president of Google America •
Chung Yong-ji (Ph.D.) – founder and CEO of Caregen •
Robert D. Ziff (J.D. 1992) – billionaire co-CEO of Ziff Brothers Investments •
Stephen Zinser – hedge fund manager who co-founded European Credit Management, a financial firm based in London, and served as its CEO ==Education==