Robert Kraft

A native of Brookline, Mass., Robert Kraft attended public schools before entering Columbia University on an academic scholarship. Upon graduation in 1963, he received a fellowship to attend Harvard Business School, where he earned a master’s degree in business administration. In 1968, he started his first packaging operation and in 1972, understanding the importance forest products would play in the developing global economy, founded International Forest Products (IFP). With IFP, Robert created a platform that has grown into the Kraft Group, a diverse holding company that comprises the family’s various business interests.

Robert’s underlying values of relationship building, coupled with the highest level of integrity, are the foundation of the Kraft Group’s success, regardless of the field or scope. Robert has built the Kraft Group on these values through hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit.

In the community, Robert and his family are one of the leading philanthropic families in the world, supporting various charities, nonprofits and causes, including education, child and women issues, healthcare, youth sports and American and Israeli programs. Robert is a Trustee Emeritus of Columbia University, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is a trustee of Boston College, Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater among others. He is also a retired member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.