Tom Pritzker was born and raised in Chicago. He holds a B.A. from Claremont Men’s College, and an M.B.A. and J.D. degree from the University of Chicago.
Mr. Pritzker is Executive Chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) which is present in 69 countries across 6 continents. Mr. Pritzker is also Chairman and CEO of The Pritzker Organization, the family’s historical merchant bank that is in the business of building companies. Over his career, he has been involved in acquiring and building companies in numerous industries including container leasing (Triton is now the world’s largest container leasing company); venture biotech and pharma (Bay City Capital and Reliant); cable operations (Hargray), cruise (Royal Caribbean), and hotels (Hyatt).
Outside of business, Mr. Pritzker is Chairman of Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. and a member of the Aspen Strategy Group.
He has been active in the sciences. Most recently, he helped to conceptualize the organizational structure and culture of the nation’s first school of molecular engineering at the University of Chicago. Deeply connected with Argonne National Labs and the Department of Energy, that school is now arguably the country’s leading effort in quantum engineering.
Mr. Pritzker is an amateur scholar of Chinese history. He first visited China in 1976. He is an Honorary Professor of History and for several years was an adjunct professor of history at Sichuan University in China. He also has an Honorary Doctorate from Tsinghua University. For the past 40 years, Mr. Pritzker has been leading archeological expeditions in China, India, and Nepal and publishing original research in the field of Buddhist Himalayan history. Mr. Pritzker is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.