Mario Morino is co-founder and chairman of Venture Philanthropy Partners and chairman of the Morino Institute.
His career spans more than 40 years as entrepreneur, technologist, and civic and business leader. He also has a long history of civic engagement and philanthropy in the National Capital Region.
In the early 1970s, Mario co-founded and helped build the Legent Corporation, a software and services firm that became a market leader and one of the industry's 10 largest firms by the early 1990s. He retired from the private sector in 1992 and, since then, his focus has been almost exclusively in the nonprofit sector.
Mario's current private sector work is limited to his affiliation with General Atlantic LLC, one of the leading global private equity firms providing capital for growth companies driven by information technology or intellectual property. He has been associated with the firm for more than 20 years, initially as its second investment in 1983, later as a Special Advisor, and now as a member of its Executive Advisory Board.
In his philanthropic work, Mario founded the Morino Institute in 1994 to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, advance a more effective philanthropy, close social divides, and understand the relationship and impact of the Internet on our society. In the 1990s, his efforts focused on the application of the Internet in communities and, in particular, opening up new technology-enabled learning opportunities and centers for children and youth of low-income families. Concurrently, he played a leadership role helping the National Capital Region understand and advance its position as a world center in information technology and telecommunications.
In 2000, Mario co-founded Venture Philanthropy Partners as a philanthropic investment organization that concentrates investments of money, expertise, and contacts to improve the lives and boost the opportunities of children of low-income families in the National Capital Region. He has been one of the leaders in adapting the relevant principles of venture and private equity investment firms and applying them for investing in the nonprofit sector to build stronger, high-impact, lasting nonprofit institutions. He also helped bring together and continues to advance a growing community of high net worth donors in and around the nation's capital.
In addition to his roles with Venture Philanthropy Partners and the Morino Institute, Mario serves as a member of the board of trustees of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an honorary trustee of The Brookings Institution, an Emeritus Trustee of Case Western Reserve University, and on the board of technology company ObjectVideo. He is a special advisor to Echoing Green; a member of the PEACE X PEACE advisory council; a member of the advisory board for the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE), The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University; and a member of the Board of Governors of the Partnership for Public Service. He also informally advises scores of organizations and individuals across a range of areas.
An active public speaker and writer, Mario has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors. He received a B.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and lives in greater Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife and three children.