Martin Hughes Nesbitt (born November 29, 1962) is an American businessman and public figure. Nesbit is co-CEO of the Vistria Group, a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm. Nesbitt is on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies

CenterPoint Energy CenterPoint Energy, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 electric and natural gas utility serving several markets in the American states of Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas. It was formerly known as Reliant Energy (from wh ...

Norfolk Southern Corporation The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

, and

American Airlines Group American Airlines Group Inc. is an American publicly traded airline holding company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It was formed on December 9, 2013, by the merger of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, and US Airways ...

. Nesbitt was the founder and former CEO of The Parking Spot, an airport parking company. He was on the board of the

Chicago Housing Authority The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is a municipal corporation that oversees public housing within the city of Chicago. The agency's Board of Commissioners is appointed by the city's mayor, and has a budget independent from that of the city of ...

. Nesbitt is a close personal friend of former U. S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and was the campaign treasurer during Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. He also serves as Chairman of the

Obama Foundation The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance (a program Barack Obama began while he was president), ...

Early life and education

Nesbitt was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, graduating from Columbus Academy. He went on to earn his bachelor's degree from

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...

Albion, Michigan Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,616 at the 2010 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area. The earliest English ...

, in 1985. After working as a financial analyst at GMAC, he won a fellowship to study at the

University of Chicago Graduate School of Business The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth or Booth) is the graduate business school of the University of Chicago. Founded in 1898, Chicago Booth is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and is associated with 10 N ...

, where he earned an MBA in 1991.

Business career

From 1996 to 1998, he worked as a vice president of Pritzker Realty group and in 1998, he founded The Parking Spot along with investor

Penny Pritzker Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American billionaire businesswoman and civic leader who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97� ...

. The Parking Spot offers airport parking services primarily for business travelers. In 2013, he co-founded The Vistria Group, a

firm, with Chicago businessman Kip Kirkpatrick. Both Nesbitt and Kirkpatrick are on the board of Rush University Medical Center. Along with a series of other funds, The Vistria Group acquired Apollo Education Group, one of the world's largest private education providers, in 2017, and the parent company of

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...

. The firm has over $3.1 billion in assets under management from institutional investors like public retirement plans, corporations, endowments or foundations, high net-worth families, non-U.S. investors and financial institutions. Nesbitt additionally serves on the board of

, a natural gas and electric company.

Relationship with Barack Obama

Nesbitt met Barack and Michelle Obama through Michelle Obama's brother Craig Robinson who was a high school basketball coach. He supported Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate bid and was the treasurer on his 2008 presidential campaign. Nesbitt is currently on the foundation planning board for the home of the future

Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum The Barack Obama Presidential Center is a planned architectural project in Chicago to commemorate the presidency of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. The center will include a museum and library and is headed by the nonprofi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbitt, Martin 1962 births Albion College alumni African-American businesspeople Living people University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people