Jean-Pierre L. Conte

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Genstar Capital

FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Environment, Freedom, Immigration, TBD

OVERVIEW: Jean-Pierre L. Conte established the J-P Conte Family Foundation in 2016. The foundation focuses on three areas: educational equity for young people, protecting the environment, and upholding freedom. Available tax filings show that the foundation awarded $823,000 in grants in 2017. Conte also established the Conte First Generation Fund to assist first-generation students to pursue degrees at nearly a dozen major universities, in honor of his own parents, Pierre and Isabel Conte, who emigrated from France and Cuba, respectively, to pursue a better life in the U.S.

BACKGROUND: Jean-Pierre L. Conte received a B.A. from Colgate University and an MBA from Harvard University. He began his career at Chase Manhattan Bank in 1985 and was a principal at The NTC Group, Inc., a private-equity firm focused on industrial technology companies. In 1995, Conte went on to join Genstar Capital, where he is chairman and managing director. 

ISSUES:

EDUCATION & YOUTH: The J-P Conte Family Foundation focuses on three areas: educational equity for young people, protecting the environment, and upholding freedom. Conte is passionate about giving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to succeed and gain educational opportunities despite challenges they may face, and he supports organizations which help children from immigrant families. He has also committed to help underprivileged high school students pursue college degrees. He is active in Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) and 10,000 Degrees in San Francisco, California.

He established the Conte First Generation Fund to assist first-generation students pursue degrees at 11 major universities—including his alma maters Colgate University and Harvard University.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION: Conte cares deeply about environmental conservation, and works closely with Pepperwood Preserve, an ecological research institute that educates communities, governments and young people on environmental challenges in Northern California.

IMMIGRATION: Conte founded the Conte Task Force on Comprehensive Immigration Reform at the Hoover Institution in 2011, and was recently appointed to the Board of Overseers at the Hoover Institution.

LOOKING FORWARD: Conte's giving is ramping up and his recently-minted family foundation should be watched for greater giving.

LINK: JP Conte