Penny Pritzker is an entrepreneur, civic leader and philanthropist with more than 30 years of experience in numerous industries. Pritzker is the founder and Chairman of PSP Capital Partners and Pritzker Realty Group, a global private investment firm that takes a long-term, fundamental approach to investing in and building market-leading businesses in sectors such as professional services, real estate, technology, agriculture, industrial services and consumer products. In close partnership with entrepreneurs, PSP Capital’s approach is patient, flexible and solutions oriented. PSP Capital has a profound appreciation for preserving strong cultures and aligning interests with strategic partners to build shareholder value.
From June 2013 through January 2017, Pritzker served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration. Pritzker was a core member of President Obama’s economic team and served as the country’s chief commercial advocate, leading the Administration’s trade and investment promotion efforts. During her tenure, she launched SelectUSA, the first federal initiative aimed at attracting foreign direct investment to the United States, which facilitated $23 billion in investment to date and created or retained tens of thousands of good paying American jobs. Pritzker also developed the agency’s first comprehensive digital and data agenda, chaired the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) program and served as the Administration’s point person on manufacturing. She also developed the first workforce and skills development agenda for the Department, ensuring federal training expenditures are job driven, strengthening regional workforce development efforts and facilitating new research on the value of apprenticeships to employers.
Pritzker previously founded Vi Senior Living (formerly known as Classic Residence by Hyatt), and co-founded The Parking Spot and Artemis Real Estate Partners. Pritzker is the former chairman of the board of TransUnion and is a past board member of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, Marmon Group and LaSalle Bank Corporation. Pritzker is also a member of the board of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, a member of the board of the Obama Foundation and on the advisory council of The Hamilton Project. She was also member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, the board of trustees of Stanford University, the Harvard University Board of Overseers and founded Skills for America’s Future. She also served on President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and his Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
Pritzker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor and Masters of Business Administration from Stanford University. Pritzker and her husband, Dr. Bryan Traubert, co-founded The Pritzker Traubert Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation that works to foster increased economic opportunity for Chicago’s families.
