Deval Patrick served as the 71st Governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. Under his leadership, Massachusetts ranked first in the nation in student achievement, health care coverage, energy efficiency, and entrepreneurial activity; became the global hub for the life sciences and biotech industry; achieved the highest bond rating in its history; and emerged from recession to achieve a 25-year employment high. In 2015 he became a managing director at Bain Capital and launched its Double Impact Fund, a private equity fund that invests in companies for both financial return and measurable social or environmental impact. He is now a senior advisor to the firm.

Earlier in his career, Patrick served as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as a staff attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, as a partner in two Boston law firms, as assistant attorney general for civil rights in the U.S. Justice Department, and as a senior executive in two Fortune 50 companies. He is currently a professor of practice and co-director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.

Patrick is a Rockefeller Fellow, a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, the recipient of 20 honorary degrees, and the author of two books. He lives in Western Massachusetts, where he keeps bees.