Kurt Summers Jr.
Mr. Summers is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Public-Private Partnerships of Blackstone Infrastructure. In this capacity, Mr. Summers is responsible for investment strategies in partnership with governments, public entities, civic and labor organizations, and broader stakeholders to help advance local infrastructure priorities and will also focus on advancing Blackstone Infrastructure’s Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) efforts. Previously, Mr. Summers served as Senior Advisor to Blackstone. Mr. Summers was elected and served as Chicago’s 70th City Treasurer until 2019. In this role, Mr. Summers managed an $8 billion investment portfolio and served as a fiduciary for nearly $25 billion in pension assets. Mr. Summers oversaw the development of the most comprehensive ESG integration strategy of any major city in the world, integrating ESG into 100% of active investment management. In addition, during his tenure as Treasurer, Chicago achieved a carbon-neutral investment portfolio and was the first city to become a signatory to the UNPRI. Mr. Summers also served as both Chairman of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, where he led the largest lighting retrofit project in North America, and Chairman of the Chicago Community Catalyst Fund, a first-of-its-kind $100 million local investment fund focused on private investments in Chicago neighborhoods. Prior to becoming Treasurer, Mr. Summers served as a Senior Vice President and member of the Office of the Chairman for GCM Grosvenor, where he was a leader in the firm’s strategy and business development efforts as well as their emerging and diverse manager business. Mr. Summers began his career at McKinsey & Company and later worked as an investment banker in both the leveraged finance and industrials groups at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Summers received a BSBA with Management Distinction High Honors in Finance and Internal Business with a minor in East Asian Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he is the subject of a 2016 published case study entitled “Kurt Summers: Investing in Our Chicago.”