Richard Kiphart

Richard P. Kiphart, head of William Blair & Company's Private Client Advisors, and a member of the firm's executive committee, joined the firm in 1965. Kiphart became part of corporate finance in 1980 and was head of the business from 1995 to 2009. Prior to 1980, he was head of equity trading for eight years. A junior officer in the US Navy, Kiphart received his BA from Dartmouth College in 1963 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1965. Kiphart is chairman of Ranir Corporation, Lime Energy, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Columbia College. He also serves on the boards of Lurie Children's Hospital, the Poetry Foundation, the Afrimax Group, Emmi Solutions, Trustwave Corporation, and Wilshire Media Group. Kiphart was born in Milwaukee, where he showed a penchant for investing early on. He retired from William Blair to partner with his son-in-law Chris Capps and others to found KDWC Ventures, which invests in technology startups in the Chicago area. Kiphart and his wife, Susie, who survives him, were also active in civic organizations ranging from the Lyric Opera to U2 lead singer Bono's charity group DATA, which fights poverty and AIDS in Africa. They were also active in causes in Ghana, including building water wells, schools and hospitals and leading health initiatives in Nigeria. In addition to his wife, Kiphart is survived by his daughters, Ellen Valentine, Jill Gluck and Becky Capps; and seven grandchildren.