Early Life and Education
Lawrence E. Golub was born in New York City on October 3, 1959, to parents from poor immigrant families. He attended Harvard College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in economics. Initially interested in science, he later switched to a business major. Golub pursued a joint JD and MBA program at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He was a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School.
Rise to Success
Golub began his career at Allen & Company Incorporated, engaging in private equity, leveraged finance, and mergers and acquisitions. He became a Managing Director at Wasserstein Perella, where he established the firm's capital markets group and debt restructuring practice. Before founding Golub Capital in 1994, he was a Managing Director at Bankers Trust Company. Golub served as a White House Fellow.
Key Business Strategies
In 1994, Golub founded Golub Capital, a credit asset management company that specializes in direct lending and private credit strategies. The firm initially started as a buyout firm, but after the 2000 dot-com bust, Golub shifted its strategy to lending. By 2025, Golub Capital had over $85 billion of capital under management. Golub Capital has become a significant player in leveraged finance, competing with major banks in unitranche and senior loan markets.
Philanthropy
Golub is actively involved in charitable and civic organizations. He supports Parkinson's disease research through the Golub Fund at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He established the Golub Stem Cell Initiative for Parkinson's with a $500,000 donation in 2001. He also serves on the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, the Columbia Business School Board of Overseers, and is President of the Harvard University JD-MBA Alumni Association.