Robert Kraft is the founder, chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group, based in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Kraft Group is the holding company of the Kraft family’s many businesses, including the New England Patriots, the New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, Patriot Place, International Forest Products, Rand-Whitney Group, Rand-Whitney Containerboard and a portfolio of more than 100 private equity investments.
Kraft began his business career with the Rand-Whitney Group, Inc. of Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, a trader of paper commodities that now does business in more than 90 countries. IFP has consistently been the leading exporter in Massachusetts and last year ranked first in New England and 20th overall in North America according to the annual rankings published by The Journal of Commerce.
Kraft serves on the board of directors of Viacom and is a trustee at Boston College, a trustee emeritus at Columbia and a governing trustee on the board of trustees for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he established the Robert K. Kraft Blood Donor Center. He has received many honorary degrees and awards from several colleges and universities including the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the NCAA’s highest honor; the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award and, in 2012, he became the first NFL owner to receive the George Halas Award, which is presented annually to the NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. He was also inducted into Columbia’s Athletic Hall of Fame and into the 231st class of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Over the past four decades, the Kraft family has been one of New England’s most philanthropic families, donating several hundred million dollars in support of local charities and civic affairs.
Jason L. Mathews is a managing director at Goldman Sachs. He currently works on the Goldman Sachs Equity Derivative Sales desk, focusing on macro hedge funds, a role he assumed in 2006. Mathews joined Goldman in 2000 on the Global Futures Trading desk.
In 2003, he was selected to head an equity focused futures trading desk in the Equity Derivative department. Mathews earned a B.A. in political science (Cum Laude) from Morehouse College in Atlanta.
