New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft named Rena Clark the Vice President of Community Affairs and Corporate Philanthropy today. In her new role, Clark will oversee all team-related community initiatives, including all charitable contributions and community out-reach programs. She will also assist in operating the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, a legal non-profit organization utilized by the Patriots and the New England Revolution to support thousands of philanthropic organizations throughout New England.
"Rena Clark is uniquely qualified to lead our community affairs initiatives," said Patriots Owner Robert Kraft. "She is a successful business entrepreneur who also has extensive experience as a community volunteer. We are proud to have her join our team and are looking forward to launching new community initiatives through the work of our foundation."
Clark has served on the Board of Overseers for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New England Aquarium and the Museum of Science. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C. Clark continues to volunteer for the United Way and is on multiple committees at the Harvard Business School.
She brings over 15 years of management and entrepreneurial experiences to the Patriots, having recently acquired, built and divested her interests in two middle-market-sized companies. She executed a turnaround and divestiture strategy for one and created a standalone profitable operating company for another.
"The Kraft family supports so many wonderful local and national charities," said Clark. "I am really looking forward to operating the foundation under their leadership. Both the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution provide terrific team resources in which to build creative community out-reach initiatives. The Foundation has made a tremendous impact in the New England community since it was founded and I am excited about the potential to expand those efforts in the years ahead."
Clark graduated with honors from Lamar University before earning a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University's Graduate School of Business. She spent four years at General Electric and a year at Bain & Company in Boston before returning to Harvard University's Graduate School of Business as the director of MBA program administration and chief operating officer in 1991. She spent four years at Harvard, where she was responsible for all major administrative departments for the school's MBA program and was the senior administrator for three of the major faculty decision-making committees. She left Harvard when she was named president and chief executive officer of a middle-market-sized company in 1995. She then acquired all assests of the company with a business partner and later divested their holdings after almost doubling the return for investors in just 14 months.
