Jewish Leadership Forum

Jonathan Lavine is a Senior Advisory Partner of Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm with approximately $215 billion in assets under management, nearly 2,000 employees and 24 offices worldwide. He served as Co-Managing Partner of the firm from 2016 – 2024 and served as Chair from 2024 – 2025.

Mr. Lavine founded Bain Capital Credit, formerly known as Sankaty Advisors, in 1998. Bain Capital Credit invests across the full spectrum of credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt, private lending, structured products, non-performing loans, equities and insurance solutions. He also created Bain Capital’s special situations investment strategy which provides bespoke capital solutions leveraging credit, equity, corporate and real estate expertise. Together, Bain Capital Credit and Bain Capital Special Situations have approximately $81 billion in assets under management, more than 420 employees and offices in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, Seoul, Singapore and Sydney.

Mr. Lavine joined Bain Capital’s private equity group in 1993. Prior to joining Bain Capital, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Lavine and his wife, Jeannie, formed and oversee the Crimson Lion Foundation which delivers financial resources to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations focused on leveling the playing field for individuals and families. The foundation works to address pressing social challenges in the areas of education, community and public service, health and welfare, discrimination and poverty. It supports the multi-disciplinary efforts of organizations that serve to strengthen society through research, innovation, public policy, direct service and advocacy. To that end, Mr. and Mrs. Lavine have supported a diverse array of organizations including City Year (where Mr. Lavine is Chairman Emeritus of the National Board of Trustees), uAspire (where they have dedicated the Lavine Family Center for College Affordability), WBUR/NPR (where they have dedicated the Lavine Broadcasting Center at CitySpace in Boston), the Boston Public Library (where Mr. Lavine currently serves on the Board of Trustees), LIFT, Cradles to Crayons, the Equal Justice Initiative and many others. In addition, they have provided major support to healthcare institutions including the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital as well as other medical research organizations. They are longtime supporters of Columbia University, where Mr. Lavine is Chair Emeritus of the Trustees of the University; and Harvard University, where they endowed the Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health and provided substantial support to fund scholarships for first-generation students at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Lavine is the 2017 recipient of Columbia University’s Alexander Hamilton Medal, the highest honor awarded to a member of the college community for distinguished service. He is a past recipient of Columbia’s John Jay Award for professional achievement, Columbia’s David Truman Award for outstanding contribution to academic affairs, the Dean’s Leadership Award for the Class of 1988 25th Reunion, Columbia/Barnard Hillel’s Seixas Award, Opportunity Nation’s American Dream Award, Voices for National Service Citizen Service Award and of the New England Anti-Defamation League’s Distinguished Community Service Award. He is the first recipient of the London School of Economics Alternative Investments Conference’s “Distinguished Speaker Honour.” Mr. Lavine was appointed a Member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council by President Obama and reappointed by President Biden. From 2004 to 2025, he was a member of the investor group and a director of the Boston Celtics.

Mr. Lavine graduated from Columbia College, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, and holds an M.B.A with Distinction from Harvard Business School. He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Columbia University in 2023.