Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO

Kathryn Wylde is President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization of the city’s business leaders established by David Rockefeller in 1979. The Partnership is dedicated to working with government, labor and the not-for-profit sectors to build a stronger New York, with a focus on education, infrastructure and the economy.

Wylde has been with the Partnership since 1982. She served for fourteen years as founding President & CEO of the Housing Partnership Development Corporation.  In that capacity, she was instrumental in the creation of a number of pioneering initiatives in affordable housing at the local, state and national levels.   Under her leadership, more than $2 billion in private funds were invested in public-private partnerships that produced affordable housing and commercial developments in New York’s most economically distressed communities.

In 1996, she became founding President & CEO of the New York City Investment Fund, the Partnership’s economic development arm. This $120 million civic investment fund, established under the leadership of Henry R. Kravis, has helped to diversify the city’s economy, create thousands of jobs and promote entrepreneurial business initiatives across the five boroughs.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Wylde was the Urban Affairs Officer at Anchor Savings Bank (1979-81) and spent 11 years (1968-79) in various positions at Lutheran Medical Center, where she helped lead the redevelopment of the federally designated poverty area of Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

An internationally known expert in housing, economic development and urban policy, Wylde serves on a number of boards and advisory groups, including the Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Board, NYC Economic Development Corporation, NYC Leadership Academy, the Research Alliance for NYC Public Schools, the Manhattan Institute, the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York, the Lutheran Medical Center, the Sila Calderon Foundation and the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the First Judicial District.  She has authored numerous articles and policy papers and has been recognized for her leadership by dozens of educational, professional and nonprofit institutions.

Wylde is a native of Madison, Wisconsin, a graduate of St. Olaf College,’68, and resides in Brooklyn, New York.