Samuel M. Mencoff

Samuel M. Mencoff is a Founding Partner and former Co-CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners and currently acts as Senior Advisor to the firm. Prior to MDP, he was with First Chicago Venture Capital for 11 years.

He is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Temple Hall Group, a privately-held diversified industrial manufacturing holding company headquartered in Chicago.

Mr. Mencoff currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Brown University Health, Rhode Island’s largest integrated academic medical center, and is Chancellor Emeritus of Brown University, after having served as the University’s 21st Chancellor between 2016 and 2024.

He currently serves as a Commissioner of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery, Vice Chair of the Board of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he serves as Chair of the Committee on American Art, and is Lead Independent Director of Packaging Corporation of America.

In addition, Mr. Mencoff is a past director of NorthShore University HealthSystem, the Regional Transportation Authority, and World Business Chicago, as well as numerous public and private companies, including Boise Cascade, Buckeye Cellulose, Georgia Marble Company, Graphic Packaging, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, Huntway Refining, Smurfit Kappa Group, and Nuveen Investments.

Mr. Mencoff earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Anthropology from Brown University in 1978, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1981.

Samuel M. Mencoff

  • Title: Senior Advisor

Former Experience:

First Chicago Venture Capital

Education:

Brown University, A.B.
Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, M.B.A.

Samuel M. Mencoff is a Founding Partner and former Co-CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners and currently acts as Senior Advisor to the firm. Prior to MDP, he was with First Chicago Venture Capital for 11 years.

He is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Temple Hall Group, a privately-held diversified industrial manufacturing holding company headquartered in Chicago.

Mr. Mencoff currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Brown University Health, Rhode Island’s largest integrated academic medical center, and is Chancellor Emeritus of Brown University, after having served as the University’s 21st Chancellor between 2016 and 2024.

He currently serves as a Commissioner of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery, Vice Chair of the Board of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he serves as Chair of the Committee on American Art, and is Lead Independent Director of Packaging Corporation of America.

In addition, Mr. Mencoff is a past director of NorthShore University HealthSystem, the Regional Transportation Authority, and World Business Chicago, as well as numerous public and private companies, including Boise Cascade, Buckeye Cellulose, Georgia Marble Company, Graphic Packaging, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, Huntway Refining, Smurfit Kappa Group, and Nuveen Investments.

Mr. Mencoff earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Anthropology from Brown University in 1978, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1981.