From a Visionary Pioneer of Private Equity Investing to a Passionate Philanthropist

Born in Newark, NJ in 1942 Raymond G. Chambers, a successful businessman and philanthropist, has been named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Mr. Chambers must have felt ambivalent upon seeing his name on Time Magazine's list; he would certainly be proud and honored to be included amongst some of the most powerful movers and shakers in the world, while simultaneously feeling uncomfortable to be in the limelight. Mr. Chambers is an extremely private man, shying away from the spotlight. A savvy business man, Mr. Chambers made his first $1 million by the age of 26. During the 1980s, Mr. Chambers and his partners at a private-equity firm, profited tremendously by engaging in lucrative leveraged buyout transactions, however, the millions which he earned was not good enough for him. Ray Chambers wanted more; he had plenty of money, and what he lacked was happiness. Having lost his extrinsic motivation for profits, he chose to pursue motivations which gave him hope and a sense of purpose. Thus was born, Ray Chambers, the philanthropist. Since his departure from the private equity firm in the late 1980s, Mr. Chambers has been involved with numerous non-profit organizations, utilizing his business expertise, network of collaborators, and his vast wealth to bring about real change in the lives of millions of people, from Newark, NJ to remote villages in Africa.

Ray Chambers' evolution as a philanthropist began in 1981 when he and former Secretary of State, William E. Simon, formed Wesray Corporation, an early private-equity firm focusing on leveraged buyout investments. Based in New York city, Simon, Chambers, and a group of other investors acquired Gibson Greetings, a company specializing in greeting cards. Although the specific dollar amounts of this transaction are unknown, it is rumored that the partners at Wesray purchased Gibson Greetings for $80 million dollars, of which only $1 million was invested by the partners. Sixteen months later, Gibson Greetings completed a $290 million IPO, netting Chambers and Simon $70 million each. Throughout the 1980s, Wesray Corporation participated in many more successful leveraged buyouts, resulting in tremendous financial success for both Chambers and Simon. These investments included RKO Pictures, Six Flags America, Ally & Gargano, Atlas Van Lines, Avis Rent a Car System, and the Outlet Company. Chambers' motivation at Wesray was driven by extrinsic rewards; both individual and systemwide rewards (Daft, p. 226-227). Chambers fits the Changing Mental Model and has what a Harvard University study calls a “contextual intelligence”. The Harvard study ranked the top 100 business leaders of the twentieth century and found that all of them shared the intelligence to sense the social, political, technological and economical situations of the current time and to create an intellectual model to improve the organization. Chambers successes