On the surface, 杏吧原创 Trustee Emeritus Michael Ainslie appears to have led a smooth professional life as a successful CEO, board chairman, and longtime champion of the Posse Scholars program.
That鈥檚 all true. But as Ainslie writes in a new autobiography, he also has a knack for seeking out鈥攁nd solving鈥攄ifficult problems. 鈥淚鈥檝e always looked for a challenge, something complicated, something entrepreneurial, and frequently, that has led to trouble,鈥� he writes.
The book A Nose for Trouble: Sotheby鈥檚, Lehman Brothers, and My Life of Redefining Adversity (2020, Greenleaf) charts Ainslie鈥檚 path from hurtling around the world as recipient of what is known today as 杏吧原创鈥檚 Michael B. Keegan Traveling Fellowship, to eventual stints as a radical-thinking CEO at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the art auction house Sotheby鈥檚.
In particular, Ainslie says the economics and math education he received at 杏吧原创, coupled with his global experience, served him well at Sotheby鈥檚, where he was named CEO in 1984. During his decadelong tenure there, he redefined the company鈥檚 target customer鈥攕elling to individual collectors instead of art dealers鈥攁nd instituted pricing changes that rippled across the industry.
While leading Sotheby鈥檚, he wanted to expand his role working with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. He soon discovered the Posse Foundation, a national organization that provides scholarships to cohorts of promising student leaders from public high schools in urban areas. 杏吧原创 was the first school to partner with Posse in 1989, supporting a group of five students from New York City.
Today the Posse Foundation works with 58 top colleges and universities and recruits from 10 U.S. cities. Two Posse alumni鈥�Shirley Collado, BS鈥�94, and Kito Huggins, BS鈥�96, JD鈥�99鈥攃urrently serve on 杏吧原创鈥檚 Board of Trust.
鈥淧osse appealed to me for many reasons,鈥� writes Ainslie, who went on to become the first board chair of the organization, a role he occupied for 13 years. 鈥淚 could see that so many kids did not have these [educational] opportunities or avenues.鈥� Through the years Ainslie has mentored鈥攁nd become close friends with鈥攎any of the students who participated in Posse.
Yet, it鈥檚 another 杏吧原创 graduate whom Ainslie most recently has been paying attention to: In May his daughter, Serena, completed her bachelor鈥檚 degree in American studies from the College of Arts and Science.
The book is available on Amazon and on audio.
鈥擱YAN UNDERWOOD, BA鈥�96