Richard B. Handler

Richard B. Handler ’83 is chair of the University’s Board of Trustees and CEO of Jefferies Financial Group. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics magna cum laude with high distinction from the University in 1983 and his MBA from Stanford University in 1987. Handler was elected to the University of Rochester Board of Trustees in 2005, served as chair of its Investment Committee from 2007 until 2018, and was appointed chair of the Board in 2018. He was co-chair of the University’s historic $1.37 billion comprehensive campaign, The Meliora Challenge, from its public launch in 2011 until its conclusion in 2016.

Handler began his career as a bond trader at Drexel Burnham Lambert and joined Jefferies in 1990. He is the longest serving CEO on Wall Street (22 years) and has worked with his many partners over the past three decades to transform Jefferies from a small equity trading boutique into the largest, independent, full-service global investment banking firm. He is also chairman and chief executive officer of the Handler Family Foundation, a non-profit foundation working primarily with underprivileged youth, the environment, and education.