Raymond Harbert | $1B+
Get in touch with Raymond Harbert | Raymond J. Harbert, founder and CEO of Harbert Management Corporation, built a major alternative investment platform spanning private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and credit. After starting his career in banking and leveraged finance, Harbert founded his firm in 1993 and grew it into a global manager serving institutions and high-net-worth investors with long-term, diversified strategies. Known for disciplined capital allocation and a conservative, steady approach across market cycles, Harbert has also become a prominent philanthropist supporting education, medical research, and civic initiatives, particularly in the American South.
Raymond J. Harbert (born December 1958) is an American business executive, investor, and philanthropist based in Birmingham, Alabama. He founded Harbert Management Corporation in 1993 as Alabama's first multi-alternative asset investment management firm, serving as its chairman and chief executive officer until transitioning to executive chairman on January 1, 2026.[1][2]
Under Harbert's leadership, the firm grew to manage more than $8 billion in assets across ten investment strategies, operating from eight offices in the United States and four in Europe.[1][3] A 1982 graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in industrial management, Harbert began his entrepreneurial career early, starting a catering business at age 15, and later rose to president and CEO of the family-owned Harbert Corporation before launching his investment firm.[1][3]
Harbert is widely recognized for his philanthropy, particularly alongside his wife, Kathryn, through major contributions to education and healthcare in Alabama. In 2013, their $40 million gift to Auburn University—the largest in the institution's history at the time—led to the renaming of its college of business as the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, where he serves as trustee emeritus.[3][1] They have also supported organizations such as Children's of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Red Mountain Theatre, and the United Way of Central Alabama, earning awards like the 2018 Tocqueville Society Award for their community involvement.[1] His professional accolades include the 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Financial Services, induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2015, entry into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 2024, and Auburn University's 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.[1][3]
Early Life and Education
Early Life
Raymond J. Harbert was born in 1958 in Birmingham, Alabama.[1]
His father, John M. Harbert III, founded what became the Harbert Corporation as a one-man construction company in 1946, growing it into a multinational firm specializing in infrastructure projects across four continents.[4]
Harbert's mother, Marguerite "Wita" Jones Harbert, was a prominent Birmingham civic leader and philanthropist who inherited a fortune estimated at over $1 billion following her husband's death, making her Alabama's only billionaire at the time.[5]
He grew up alongside siblings John M. Harbert IV—born with Williams syndrome—and Marguerite H. Gray, with his family deeply rooted in Birmingham's business community; his paternal uncle, Bill L. Harbert, was also a key figure in the family's construction enterprises.[4][5][6]
Harbert's upbringing in Birmingham fostered an early fascination with business and investments, as he often listened to his father's stories about deals and opportunities during family dinners.[1]
At age 15, he demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit by founding Penbryn Hill Catering, managing logistics like food delivery and event parking despite lacking a driver's license by recruiting peers to assist.[1]
Education
Raymond J. Harbert graduated from Auburn University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management.[7][8]
His decision to attend Auburn, a prominent public university in Alabama, was influenced by his family's longstanding roots in the state.[1] This choice of an in-state institution not only provided him with a strong foundation in business principles but also foreshadowed his deep commitment to the university, evident in his later transformative philanthropy that supported its growth as a hub for business education.[9]
Professional Career
Early Roles in Family Business
Upon graduating from Auburn University in 1982, Raymond J. Harbert joined Harbert Corporation, the multinational construction and investment firm founded by his father, John M. Harbert, in 1949 as a heavy civil contracting company that later diversified into engineering, real estate, power generation, and global investments.[10][1] His entry into the family enterprise was enabled by these close ties, providing him access to foundational roles in a business that had expanded to operate in over 20 countries by the 1980s.[11][10]
Harbert began his professional career at Harbert International, Inc., a key subsidiary specializing in international construction and engineering projects, where he initially held various operational positions to build hands-on experience.[11] He was subsequently appointed vice president of business development at Harbert International, a role in which he focused on identifying and pursuing growth opportunities in overseas markets, contributing to the subsidiary's expansion amid the company's broader multinational operations.[11]
In a subsequent position, Harbert served as president of Harbert Properties Corporation, the real estate arm of Harbert Corporation, where he oversaw development initiatives, property acquisitions, and investment strategies that supported the firm's diversification beyond core construction activities.[11] These mid-level roles honed his expertise in business expansion and asset management within the family-controlled conglomerate, laying the groundwork for his later leadership responsibilities.[11]
Leadership at Harbert Corporation
In December 1988, Raymond J. Harbert was elected vice president of Harbert Corporation, where he took on overall responsibility for the firm's investment portfolio. This role built on his prior experience in business development and real estate within the family company, allowing him to oversee a diverse range of investment activities amid the corporation's expansion into sectors like energy and securities.[11]
In July 1990, at the age of 31, Harbert was elected president and chief executive officer of Harbert Corporation, succeeding his father, John M. Harbert, and assuming all executive responsibilities for the multi-billion-dollar diversified conglomerate. Under his leadership, the company shifted away from labor-intensive construction operations toward a more streamlined structure, emphasizing core competencies to enhance long-term value.[11][12]
During his tenure as CEO from 1990 to 1993, Harbert directed a strategic refocus on three primary areas: energy (including alternative energy and cogeneration projects enabled by the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act), commercial real estate development, and portfolio investment strategies. This approach capitalized on the company's operational expertise to exploit market opportunities, such as growth in independent power plants through subsidiaries like Harbert Power Corporation and investment management via The Harbinger Group, Inc., while divesting underperforming assets like oil and gas exploration interests in 1992.[12]
Founding Harbert Management Corporation
In 1993, following the sale of Harbert Corporation's main domestic construction business to Raytheon, Raymond J. Harbert founded Harbert Management Corporation (HMC) in Birmingham, Alabama, as the state's first multi-alternative asset investment management firm.[10][1] Along with four partners, Harbert launched the firm using a US$3 million line of credit provided by Harbert Corporation and secured against his eventual inheritance.[10][1][13] Drawing briefly on his prior leadership experience at the family firm, Harbert positioned HMC as an independent entity to manage alternative investments professionally.[1]
From its inception, HMC focused on alternative asset management across diverse strategies, including real estate, energy (such as power projects), private equity, debt, venture capital, and public markets.[10][14] This entrepreneurial approach emphasized fundamental research and opportunistic investments in both private and public markets, starting with initial strategies in U.S. real estate and power that attracted three institutional clients by the mid-1990s.[10] The firm quickly expanded internationally, entering the European market in 2000 by acquiring commercial real estate assets from Swedish Telecom.[10]
Under Harbert's leadership, HMC grew steadily from its modest beginnings with a small team, navigating challenges like the 2008 financial crisis to reach approximately US$8.1 billion in regulatory assets under management as of September 2025.[1][15] It now serves a global clientele of institutional investors, including public endowments, foundations, pension funds, insurance companies, high-net-worth individuals through family offices, and other sophisticated entities.[14][1] With operations spanning eight U.S. offices and four in Europe, HMC oversees ten investment strategies, maintaining its commitment to diversified, research-driven alternative investments. In November 2025, the firm announced that Harbert would transition from CEO to executive chairman effective January 1, 2026.[1][14][15]
Major Investments and Challenges
In 2000, Harbert Management Corporation (HMC) launched Harbinger Capital Partners as a hedge fund focused on distressed investments, seeded with $25 million from HMC and managed by Philip Falcone, a former banker recruited for his expertise in high-yield securities.[16][17] The fund delivered strong performance over its first decade, generating substantial returns through opportunistic bets on undervalued assets during market downturns, which culminated in Falcone acquiring majority ownership in 2010 while Raymond J. Harbert retained a personal investment stake.[18][19]
Building on HMC's foundational assets from the family's prior construction and energy holdings, the firm expanded significantly over the subsequent two decades, establishing a global footprint with multiple offices across the United States—including Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, New York, Richmond, and San Francisco—and in Europe, such as London, Paris, Madrid, and Luxembourg.[20][21] This growth enabled HMC to diversify into alternative investments like real estate, power infrastructure, and growth equity, managing billions in assets while navigating volatile markets.[22]
A notable challenge arose in 2006 when Raymond J. Harbert's sister, Marguerite H. Gray, filed a lawsuit in Jefferson County Circuit Court, alleging that he breached fiduciary duties as a shareholder in Harbert Corporation by using family trust assets to fund HMC without proper consent, thereby enriching himself at the expense of other shareholders, including herself and their brother.[23][24] The dispute centered on claims of misrepresentation in obtaining approvals for the investment firm's creation and operations.[25] The case settled amicably in February 2010, with no admission of wrongdoing by either party, allowing the family to resolve the internal conflict privately.[23]
Philanthropy and Civic Involvement
Contributions to Higher Education
Raymond J. Harbert has made significant contributions to higher education, particularly through his service and philanthropy at his alma mater, Auburn University. He served on Auburn University's Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2024, including as president pro tempore, where he played a key role in advancing the institution's strategic initiatives.[26][3]
In 2013, Harbert, along with his wife Kathryn D. Harbert, pledged $40 million to Auburn University's College of Business—the largest charitable gift in the university's history at the time—which led to its renaming as the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business.[27][28] The pledge included an initial $25 million commitment from the Harberts, which included a $15 million challenge grant matched by donations from alumni and others to encourage further contributions and program development.[29] This transformational support was motivated by Harbert's own experience earning a business degree from Auburn in 1982, aiming to elevate the college's ability to attract top talent and challenge students.[30]
The funds were directed toward enhancing faculty, programs, and facilities, including the establishment of multiple professorial chairs, such as the Harbert Eminent Scholar positions to recruit leading experts in areas like business analytics and supply chain management.[28] Key initiatives included launching a doctoral program in finance in 2014, which has graduated 15 students now in faculty roles at institutions including the University of Toronto, and creating the Harbert Investments Center—a state-of-the-art research facility equipped with Bloomberg terminals that partners with Auburn's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering for interdisciplinary experiential learning in finance and investments.[28]
These investments have had a profound impact, increasing undergraduate enrollment by 47% from approximately 3,800 students in 2012 to over 5,600 by 2022 and positioning the Harbert College of Business as Auburn's largest academic unit, enrolling more than 20% of the university's students.[28] The growth also extended to graduate programs, including a highly ranked master's in supply chain management, and increased philanthropic support by 106%, funding scholarships that tripled to $1.5 million annually for nearly 700 recipients.[28]
Board Service and Community Roles
Raymond J. Harbert has demonstrated significant commitment to community leadership through various board roles in Alabama, focusing on finance, healthcare, and economic growth. His involvement underscores a dedication to advancing regional prosperity and public welfare beyond his professional endeavors.[1]
Harbert previously served on the board of directors for the Alabama Trust Fund, where he contributed to the oversight and management of the state's investment portfolio aimed at funding public education and other essential services. This role highlighted his expertise in financial stewardship at a statewide level.[11]
Currently, Harbert serves on the board of trustees for Children's of Alabama, a prominent pediatric hospital in Birmingham, where he has been recognized for over 20 years of dedicated service. In this capacity, he helps guide strategic decisions to enhance pediatric care and community health initiatives in the region.[31]
Harbert also holds a position on the executive committee of the Birmingham Business Alliance, an organization dedicated to fostering economic development, workforce enhancement, and business growth in central Alabama. His leadership here supports efforts to attract investment and promote sustainable economic opportunities across the state.[1][11]
Through these roles, supported by resources from Harbert Management Corporation, Harbert has actively engaged in civic initiatives that bolster Alabama's economic landscape and community well-being.[32]
Personal Life and Recognition
Family and Private Interests
Raymond J. Harbert is married to Kathryn Dunn Harbert, with whom he has three children and nine grandchildren.[33]
The couple resides in Birmingham, Alabama.[34]
Harbert owns Sedgefields Plantation, a 10,000-acre property in Union Springs, South Alabama, which he uses for hunting quail and turkey. The plantation supports a robust wild quail population through active stewardship, including collaborations with conservation organizations for habitat management and quail translocation efforts.[35][36][37]
Awards and Honors
Raymond J. Harbert has received numerous accolades recognizing his contributions to business leadership and philanthropy in Alabama.[1][11] In 2024, he was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame, honoring his role as founder and CEO of Harbert Management Corporation, a firm managing over $8 billion in assets.[1] This induction underscores his impact on the state's economic landscape, building on successes at Harbert Management Corporation and significant philanthropic support to institutions like Auburn University.[1][3]
Earlier, in 2015, Harbert was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, an elite group limited to 200 living Alabamians for distinguished service to the state.[11] The academy recognized his leadership in business and civic roles, including past service on Auburn University's Board of Trustees and the Birmingham Business Alliance.[11] In 2006, he received the regional Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Financial Services, acknowledging his innovative approaches in investment management.[1][11]
Harbert's philanthropic efforts were further honored in 2018 with the United Way Tocqueville Society Award, presented jointly to him and his wife Kathryn for exemplary generosity and community involvement.[1] Most recently, in 2025, the Auburn University Alumni Association awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award at a campus gala, celebrating his professional accomplishments, integrity, and service to the university, including his emeritus trustee status.[3] These honors collectively position Harbert as a pivotal figure in Alabama's business and philanthropic spheres.
Disclaimer: This profile is based on publicly available information. No endorsement or affiliation is implied.
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