Luis Ubiñas

Luis Antonio Ubiñas (born 1963) Is an American businessman who formerly served as the president of the Ford Foundation.

Early life

Ubiñas grew up in the South Bronx in New York City, spending much of his early life in public housing. His family migrated from Puerto Rico in the 1950s. His mother was a seamstress. Access to education proved transformative in his life. With the help of scholarships and financial aid, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1985 with a degree in government. Among other honors, he was a Truman Scholar. In 1989 he graduated from Harvard Business School as a Baker Scholar with highest honors.

Career

McKinsey & Company

Ubiñas spent 18 years at McKinsey & Company.^[1] At McKinsey, he worked with telecommunications, technology and media companies. He led McKinsey's media practice on the West coast, working primarily on leading major change programs. At McKinsey, he led major restructurings at several national and international media companies. His practice was global with substantive work in Europe, Asia and South America.

Ford Foundation

Ubiñas named president of the Ford Foundation in August 2007.^[1] During his time as president, Ubiñas restructured the organization. He developed and implemented a new program strategy focused on a contemporary reconceptualization of the social justice issues which had long defined Ford's work. In the process of restructuring, the number of initiatives the Foundation engaged in was reduced from 208 to 34. Core to the new operating strategy was deepened engagement with grantees. Ubiñas also redesigned the foundation's operations to release funds from internal spending to external grant making and improving responsiveness to grantees, reducing operating expenses by more than 20%. As part of the restructuring, Ubinas also reinvested over 80% of the organization’s $11 billion endowment. After six years as president of the foundation, Ubiñas announced that he would be stepping down from his role in September 2013.

At Ford he launched a range of national and international campaigns including: Girls not Brides, a global effort to reduce child marriage; JustCities, a multi-city effort to advance sustainable and inclusive development; More and Better Learning Time, an effort focused on expanding and redesigning the school day in the United States. Ubiñas also expanded the Foundation's work in the Arts, co-leading the creation of ArtSpace, a national program to support the arts as both cultural and economic anchors for communities.

Other Activities

Ubiñas serves on several local, national and international boards in both the nonprofit and private sectors. He serves on the Board of Trustees for Collegiate School and The New York Public Library. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Valassis Communications as well as the Board of Directors of Electronic Arts. He serves as Advisory Committee Member for One Hundred Thousand Strong Initiative, the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation and the Advisory Committee for the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Ubiñas is also the Northwest Regional Chair for White House Fellows.

Personal life

His wife, Deborah Tolman, is a feminist scholar. They have two sons, Max and Ben.^[2]

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.fordfoundation.org/about-us/history/presidents
2. ↑ http://www.fordfound.org/about/bios/l_ubinas Ford Foundation biography, accessed April 25, 2011.