Special to the Ledger

Mark R. Shenkman

WASHINGTON (March 13, 2014) – Greenwich philanthropist and financier Mark R. Shenkman has been named the recipient of this year’s prestigious Renaissance Award, awarded by Hillel International.

A member of Hillel’s International Board of Governors since 2005, Shenkman is an advocate for higher education and Israel. The Renaissance Award, Hillel’s highest honor, is bestowed upon an individual whose bold vision and transformative initiatives enrich the campus, the Jewish community, and the world.

The award will be presented on Monday, June 9 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City at Hillel International’s annual Renaissance Gala, which this year celebrates the 90th anniversary of the founding of the campus-based movement.

In announcing the Renaissance Award, Randall Kaplan, chair of the Hillel International Board of Governors, said, “Mark Shenkman stands on the shoulders of other great Jewish leaders who have been instrumental in the success of Hillel. As a long-time member of our International Board of Governors, his devotion to our mission is truly inspiring.”

Shenkman is founder, president and chief investment officer (CIO) of Shenkman Capital Management, Inc. In 1978 he managed one of the first dedicated high-yield mutual funds at Fidelity Investments. Shenkman went on to launch and co-head one of the first broker- dealer leverage-finance departments on Wall Street at Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb. Prior to founding Shenkman Capital in 1985, he was president and CIO of First Investors Asset Management, responsible for First Investors Fund for Income, the largest high-yield mutual fund at the time. He has built Shenkman Capital, a New York-based investment advisory firm, into one of the leading asset managers exclusively focused on companies in leveraged finance. Shenkman has co-authored two textbooks on the leveraged financial markets.

Shenkman has dedicated much of his time and philanthropic endeavors to higher education. He is the immediate past chair and a current member of the UCONN Foundation’s Board of Directors, a member of the Board of Trustees of The George Washington University, and a member of the Mason School of Business Board of Advisors at the College of William and Mary. In 2007, he was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Connecticut. Shenkman received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. from The George Washington University.

Shenkman has been a member of Hillel’s International Board of Governors since 2005. He is also a board member of the Museum of American Finance and an avid collector of American political flags. He and his wife, Rosalind, have three sons and six grandchildren.