Goel, Landreth Join Academy Trustees

Founder and Managing Member of Matrix Capital Management David Goel ‘89 and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Kerry Landreth Reed ‘91 were elected in May 2013 to join the existing group of 16 trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy.Principal Tom Hassan said that both Goel and Landreth positively reflect the qualifications set forth by Exeter for its trustees. “I knew Ms. Landreth Reed when she was a student here; I was her college counselor. I have met Mr. Goel several times over the years,” Hassan said. “Both possess the kind of thoughtful open-mindedness that is going to be an incredible asset to the Academy.”Goel, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University in 1993, magna cum laude, stepped into the financial sphere by becoming a financial analyst in the technology investment banking division of Morgan Stanley. After several other experiences in the investment field, Goel started his own company, Matrix Capital Management, in 1999.While balancing other voluntary and beneficiary positions such as trustee of Meadowbrook School in Weston, Mass.; vice chairman of Boston’s Citi Performing Arts Center; trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass.; and director of Popular, Inc., Goel, who joined the Academy’s Investment Committee in 2003 as an adjunct member, has been committed to staying connected to Exeter.“I attended Exeter on financial aid.  That meant my education was not just an opportunity to better myself, but a gift I was given,” Goel said. “I have been searching for ways to give back to Exeter, the school that gave me so much.”As a trustee of PEA, Goel hopes to apply his diverse background and knowledge to the betterment of the school. One of the ways in which he plans to do this is through the Buildings and Grounds Committee, dealing directly with the physical maintenance of campus.“The school is contemplating several important projects, each of which will be chiefly funded through donation. Because funding for the buildings and grounds is typically through gifts, it is financial aid for the current and future students as a whole,” Goel said. “To be a leader in that process means I will be able to give back on a larger scale, in a largely permanent way—just as Exeter did for me when I was a student.”Landreth graduated from Stanford University in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in history and joined Goldman Sachs in equities the same year. After working globally in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, Landreth settled in San Francisco and was promoted to managing director to run equity sales in 2011.Landreth, like Goel, takes on many philanthropic positions in her community, co-chairing the Leadership Council of California for the Nature Conservancy and volunteering for the UCSF Breast Care Center. Although it was not easy to make the decision to become a trustee of the Academy while balancing these roles with a professional career and a family life, she credited her long-time connection to the Academy and support from her family as the decisive factors.“I was thrilled and very surprised when I was asked to become a trustee. I had volunteered for the last 20 years but still wasn’t expecting it. My closest friends in San Francisco are a phenomenal group of Exonian women from the classes of 1991 to 1993, and I married an Exonian, Creighton Reed ‘90. So while completely geographically impractical from San Francisco, this was a natural extension of our commitment to PEA,” Landreth said. “Really, it was my husband who gave me the final push to do this. As a working mom with two young kids, I have to know that each incremental add[ition] to our life makes sense. This made the cut.”Landreth attributes Exeter to giving her a “lifelong love of learning.” As a trustee, she will take part in the Institutional Advancement and Education & Appointments Committees, and hopes to further promote Exeter’s foundational purpose—to “educate youth from every quarter.”The Committee on Trustees, chaired by trustee Belle Burden Davis ‘87, constantly evaluates 20,000 PEA alumni for potential candidates, from which a few are selected.“We have a carefully managed schedule of trustee election and retirement, and we try to keep to one or two new trustees, each year or two. This allows us to be focused and selective. We even have a new trustee indoctrination process and mentorship program,” President of Trustees Tom Hutton ‘73 said.Hutton commented on Goel and Landreth’s experiences and suitability for their new roles. “Mr. Goel has experience as a trustee in the arts and expects to pursue that passion here. Ms. Landreth has a broad set of interests that include student life, athletics and other issues,” he said. “The Academy is fortunate to have both Mr. Goel and Ms. Landreth joining as trustees. Having served as a trustee for over eight years now, I can also say with confidence that Mr. Goel and Ms. Landreth will also have unique and rewarding experiences in their new roles.”Both Landreth and Goel anticipate their new tenure as trustees with much excitement. “I hope to bring my west coast perspective to the role. I have a lot to learn, but that is part of the appeal,” Landreth said.Goel agreed. “If the passage of time reveals anything about my trusteeship, the sign that my decisions pass its test will be that my term ended with the school better off than when I began, in the same way that I graduated from Exeter better off than when I arrived.”