Bentley to Celebrate the Inauguration of E. LaBrent Chrite, PhD, as Ninth President on April 5 and 6

Ceremony will feature business and higher education leaders including entrepreneur and investor Marcelo Claure ’93, UNCF (United Negro College Fund) President and CEO Michael L. Lomax, Harvard Business School Professor Debora Spar and University of Illinois President Emeritus Joe White

Bentley University will celebrate the inauguration of E. LaBrent Chrite, PhD, an experienced educator who believes business can change lives for the better, as its ninth president during a two-day celebration that will feature prominent business and higher education leaders.

Over his career, President Chrite has helped governments, universities and foundations to develop programs and research aimed at bolstering emerging markets and entrepreneurism and reducing poverty. Throughout the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, President Chrite has been called upon as an expert in strengthening economic conditions and improving business education. Before joining Bentley, he served as president of Bethune-Cookman University, dean of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, and dean of the Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University.

“Brent Chrite embodies our strong belief in the power of business to create solutions to human problems,” said Paul Condrin ’83, P ’19, ’22, chair of the Bentley University board of trustees. “He has dedicated his career to improving business education and expanding economic opportunities for people in the U.S. and around the world. President Chrite is the right leader at the right time for Bentley University.”

The inclusive, two-day inauguration celebration will welcome students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, friends of the university and representatives of other colleges. The events will also be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.

The celebration will kick off on April 5 with an armchair conversation hosted by President Chrite with alumnus Marcelo Claure ’93, an entrepreneur and investor who created Brightstar, the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company, and served as president, CEO and executive chairman of Sprint. Claure, the chairman and CEO of Claure Capital, also served as CEO of SoftBank Group International and COO of SoftBank Group, where he launched the $8 billion Latin America Fund, the largest VC fund in Latin America; and the Opportunity Fund, the largest fund of its kind with a $100 million commitment to invest in companies led by underrepresented racial minorities. During his tenure at Sprint, Claure also launched the 1Million Project, one of the largest corporate social responsibility initiatives in history providing 1 million internet-connected devices to low-income high school students across the United States who do not have internet access at home.

The conversation will focus on the current state of the business world, the trajectory business leaders expect for the decade ahead, emerging technologies and innovations that will define how businesses operate, and why the future of business is good business.

The formal installation ceremony will take place on April 6 in the Bentley Arena and will feature three prominent keynote speakers:

• Michael L. Lomax, PhD, a leading advocate of college readiness who is the CEO and president of the UNCF and former president of Dillard University.
   
• Debora Spar, PhD, the Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and senior associate dean for Business and Global Society. She previously served as president of Barnard College and is a member of the Bentley University board of trustees.
   
• Joe White, PhD, president emeritus and professor emeritus of the University of Illinois and dean emeritus and professor emeritus of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he also served as interim president. Dr. White hired Dr. Chrite at the Ross School of Business.

About Marcelo Claure ’93:

Marcelo Claure is an entrepreneur, investor and chairman and CEO of Claure Capital. He founded Brightstar in 1997 and built it into the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company, with revenues exceeding $10 billion, making it the largest Hispanic-owned business in U.S. history. During his tenure as Sprint’s CEO and executive chairman, Claure is credited for delivering the best financial results in the company’s 120-year history and delivering the $195 billion merger with T-Mobile that was approved in 2020. As CEO of SoftBank Group International and COO of SoftBank Group, Claure was part of the team that launched the $100 billion Vision Fund and oversaw SoftBank's operations and strategy alongside CEO Masayoshi Son, with full operational responsibility for over $300 billion in assets. He also founded and launched the now $8 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest VC fund in Latin America, and grew it to become one of the best performing funds at SoftBank. Claure earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Bentley in 1993 and an honorary PhD in Commercial Science in 2004. He has also served on the university’s board of trustees. Read Claure’s full bio. 

About Michael L. Lomax, PhD:

Since 2004, Michael L. Lomax has served as president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to African American students and a leading advocate of college readiness: students’ need for an education, from pre-school through high school, that prepares them for college success. Under his leadership, UNCF has raised more than $3 billion and helped more than 110,000 students earn college degrees and launch careers. Read Dr. Lomax’s full bio.

About Debora L. Spar, PhD:

Debora Spar is the Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and senior associate dean for Business and Global Society. Her current research focuses on issues of gender and technology, and the interplay between technological change and broader social structures. Spar tackles some of these issues in her latest book, “Work Mate Marry Love: How Machines Shape Our Human Destiny.” Read Dr. Spar’s full bio.

About B. Joseph White, PhD:

B. Joseph (Joe) White is president emeritus and professor emeritus of the University of Illinois and dean emeritus and professor emeritus of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he also served as interim president. He is the author of “The Nature of Leadership” and “Boards That Excel.” He has practiced and taught, as well as written, spoken and advised on leadership and management, corporate governance, and human capital development. Read Dr. White’s full bio. 

For more information about the inauguration ceremony, visit bentley.edu/inauguration.