Early Life and Education
Steven Klinsky was raised in the Detroit area, where he attended public schools. He quickly excelled in his studies, completing his B.A. in Economics and Political Philosophy, with high honors, from the University of Michigan in 1976 in approximately two years. He then pursued his MBA from Harvard Business School (class of 1979) and a J.D., with honors, from Harvard Law School (class of 1981).
Rise to Success
Klinsky's career began at Goldman Sachs, where he co-founded the leveraged buyout group. He helped execute pioneering transactions, setting the stage for his future successes. Later, he joined Forstmann Little & Co., where he became a key partner. He was the most senior partner of Forstmann Little outside of the Forstmann family for a majority of the 1990s. In 1999, Klinsky founded New Mountain Capital, a growth-oriented private equity and credit firm. Under his leadership, the firm has grown to manage over $55 billion in assets.
Key Business Strategies
New Mountain Capital focuses on defensive growth investments in non-cyclical sectors such as healthcare, business services, and technology-enabled services. The firm emphasizes business building and operational improvements rather than solely financial engineering. Key to New Mountain's strategy is acquiring operationally critical real estate assets. Since the firm's inception, New Mountain's private equity companies have generated over $87 billion of enterprise value. The firm has also added or created over 70,000 net jobs.
Philanthropy
Beyond his business endeavors, Klinsky is also known for his philanthropy, particularly in education. He founded ModernStates.org, the nation's largest free college-for-credit program. He has also founded the Gary Klinsky Children Centers after-school program, which has served thousands of children in New York City. Klinsky and his wife endowed the Steven and Maureen Klinsky Professorship of Practice for Leadership and Progress at Harvard Law School.