An internationally renowned political scientist, management scholar and visionary leader, Diermeier is Vanderbilt’s ninth chancellor.

Vanderbilt named Diermeier chancellor in late 2019 after an extensive search by the Board of Trust. In May 2024, the Board of Trust extended Diermeier’s contract until 2035 “as a demonstration of our confidence in Chancellor Diermeier’s leadership and to support the realization of his long-term vision for the university.

Upon stepping into his role in July 2020, Diermeier immediately committed to safely and successfully bringing students back to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, making Vanderbilt one of a very small number of the nation’s best universities to do so. Today, in the spirit of Vanderbilt’s motto, Crescere aude, or “dare to grow,” Diermeier leads an ambitious program of expansion and improvement, driving efforts to create a culture of radical collaboration and personal growth and to increase Vanderbilt’s presence and reputation both nationally and globally. During a time of unprecedented criticism of higher education, and with society facing urgent and even existential challenges, Chancellor Diermeier has been nationally recognized as a leader in free expression and civil discourse on college campuses and has eloquently made the case for the social value of universities and their unique role as engines of innovation, exemplars of civil discourse and educators of tomorrow’s leaders.

Since Diermeier was named chancellor, Vanderbilt has become a destination for the most promising students and faculty, attracting a record number of admissions applications, posting its highest percentage of admitted students attending and expanding financial aid through Opportunity Vanderbilt. It has topped the $1 billion mark in external research funding and set a university record for licensing revenue—surpassing traditional innovation leaders Stanford and MIT. Vanderbilt’s endowment has grown from $6.9 billion to more than $10 billion since Diermeier’s arrival and, in 2023, Vanderbilt launched a record $3.2 billion fundraising campaign, including Vandy United, a $300 million effort to re-imagine Vanderbilt athletics.

In 2022, the university launched Discovery Vanderbilt, a multimillion-dollar investment to ignite and expand the university’s capacity for innovation and discovery across disciplines. Clinton Global Initiative University selected Vanderbilt as its host in 2023, the same year the university launched a landmark celebration of its Sesquicentennial. In 2024, Vanderbilt announced it was a establishing the College of Connected Computing, its first new college since 1981.

Beyond campus, Chancellor Diermeier has spearheaded efforts to increase cross-sector collaboration and employ Vanderbilt’s innovative capacity to expand Middle Tennessee’s innovation economy. In the summer of 2024, Vanderbilt and the office of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell established the Nashville Innovation Alliance, which aims to bring together public, private, civic and education institutions to collaborate in improving the region’s ecosystem for innovation and research. Diermeier has also grown partnerships and collaboration with the U.S. military and national security agencies. He has driven development of the annual Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats and established the Vanderbilt Institute for National Security. He led development of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy and, in the fall of 2023, oversaw the launch of Dialogue Vanderbilt, a multifaceted initiative to promote civil discourse on campus and affirm Vanderbilt’s long-standing commitment to free expression.

In 2024, Vanderbilt introduced Nashville Vanderbilt Scholars, a partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools that covers the direct costs of attending Vanderbilt for any MNPS students admitted to Vanderbilt through the early decision process who also qualifies for a Federal Pell Grant or whose parent income is $100,000 or less.

In addition to his role as chancellor, Diermeier is University Distinguished Professor in the Owen Graduate School of Management and Distinguished University Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts & Science. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has published five books, with a sixth forthcoming and more than 100 research articles in academic journals—mostly in the fields of political science, economics and management, but also in linguistics, sociology, psychology, computer science, operations research and applied mathematics.

Throughout his career, Diermeier has proven to be a bold innovator, combining excellence as a leader, researcher and teacher with an entrepreneurial mindset. Before arriving at Vanderbilt, Chancellor Diermeier served in leadership roles at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and at the University of Chicago, where he served as dean of the Harris School of Public Policy. Chancellor Diermeier also served as director of the Ford Motor Co. Center for Global Citizenship and, in 2007, received the Aspen Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award, called “the Oscars of the business school world” by the Financial Times.

A first-generation college graduate, Chancellor Diermeier earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Rochester. He also holds master’s degrees in political science from the University of Rochester and the University of Munich, and he earned a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Southern California.

Stephen M. Ross is the Chairman and CEO of Related Ross, Founder of Related Companies, Owner of the Miami Dolphins, and a devoted philanthropist. Through Related Ross, Mr. Ross is driving transformational inclusive growth across South Florida, particularly in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.

Mr. Ross founded Related Companies in 1972, building it into a global leader with more than $70 billion in assets spanning residential, office, retail, and mixed-use developments. The firm is also among the nation’s largest owners and preservers of affordable housing and was recently named one of Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Beyond real estate, Mr. Ross is an investor in Equinox Fitness Clubs, Equinox Hotels, and SoulCycle, reflecting his long-standing commitment to wellness and lifestyle innovation.

In sports and entertainment, Mr. Ross owns the Miami Dolphins, chairs the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, and played a pivotal role in bringing the Miami Open Tennis Tournament to Hard Rock Stadium. Mr. Ross is also Chairman and Co-Founder of RSE Ventures, a multi-national technology, sports, and entertainment venture firm.

Mr. Ross’s philanthropic contributions span education, healthcare, and urban sustainability. He established the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, founded the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), and is the largest single donor to the University of Michigan, supporting the Ross School of Business. Through the Giving Pledge, Mr. Ross has committed more than half his estate to philanthropic causes worldwide.

Jurrien Timmer is the director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.

Mr. Timmer is part of Fidelity’s Global Asset Allocation group, where he specializes in asset allocation and global macro strategy. Jurrien has been at Fidelity for 30 years and has four decades of experience in the industry. He appears frequently in front of Fidelity clients and in the media (CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business News), and his work can also be seen on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Prior to assuming his current position in 2005, Jurrien held various other roles within Fidelity, including technical research analyst and portfolio manager of the Fidelity Global Strategies Fund. Before joining Fidelity in 1995, Jurrien was a vice president in the Fixed Income group at ABN AMRO Bank in New York. He has been in the investments industry since 1985.

Jurrien earned his finance degree from Babson College in 1985. He was born and raised as a Dutch citizen in Aruba but has lived in the U.S. all his adult life. He became a dual citizen in 2002. Jurrien is a strong proponent of healthy work-life integration, is an avid traveler, cook and cyclist, and runs a food-related theme camp at Burning Man.

Nate is the Executive Chairman of Family Office Exchange (“FOX”) and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Heritage Partners Group, a family of companies focused on acquiring, building and growing private business in the consumer, business services and technology sectors.

Over the last 20 years Nate has worked with family offices who are focused on investing Private Family Capital in a manner consistent with their values and objectives. The range of investment strategies has spanned traditional endowment style portfolio allocation to direct private equity, including investment platforms adjacent to the family business or family office. Nate is a believer in the power of Private Family Capital to effectuate enhanced outcomes for all stakeholders. Prior to his current roles, Nate worked in private equity, investment banking, and sales & trading, including the Tech & Media Investment Banking group at Goldman Sachs, the Global Macro Hedge Fund group at UBS, and as a Co-founder of FDX Capital, a direct-investment platform built for FOX family offices.

Nate has a BS from Vanderbilt, an MBA from Chicago Booth and is a CFA charterholder. Nate relocated from New York City to Florida during the pandemic where he lives with his wife Christy and 2 sons.

Nick is an accomplished entrepreneur, investor and executive with deep experience building and investing in businesses at an institutional scale. Nick is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Heritage Partners Group (“Heritage”), an investment firm focused on acquiring, building and growing private businesses and real estate. The Heritage strategy is characterized in part by a differentiated approach to private investing, partnering exclusively with family capital and utilizing a permanent, flexible approach to timelines, structure and asset monetization. Throughout Nick’s career, he has worked closely with family offices and high-net-worth individuals, and he understands the unique challenges and opportunities that families encounter.

Prior to founding Heritage, Nick worked in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs, where he advised publicly traded and privately held companies on M&A, equity financing and other strategic initiatives. Previously, Nick held various positions at Fidelity Investments, where he was consistently recognized as a top 1% producer in the firm’s wealth management division and served on various firmwide leadership committees.

Since 2018, Nick has served on the Advisory Board of Family Office Exchange (“FOX”), the world’s premier network for multigenerational family offices. Nick is involved in several charities in New York and in his home state of Virginia and has been a regular guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and at the University of Maryland. He has a B.S. from Virginia Tech and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, where he was a Columbia Fellow.

Peter Moustakerski is CEO of Family Office Exchange (FOX), the premier resource for families managing private enterprises and family wealth across generations. For over 30 years, FOX has been recognized as the industry’s most exclusive, innovative, and influential community for peer networking and learning, and has provided independent insights, expert guidance, and practical solutions to complex problems related to family transitions and family wealth.

Peter has spent more than 25 years as a C-level strategist and executive across a variety of industries, including wealth management, capital markets, and technology. He is a former family office executive and FOX member, management consultant, and entrepreneur. He has served as a strategy, innovation, and growth leader for a number of private and public companies and founded two start-ups in New York City and China.

Prior to joining FOX, Peter served as Chief Operating Officer of the family office of the founder of Bridgewater Associates, where he worked closely with the principal family members to envision and oversee the redesign of the family office strategy and day-to-day operations to better serve the evolving needs of the family. Before that, Peter was a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, advising many of the world’s top C-suite leaders, and a strategy executive at UBS, leading all growth and transformation initiatives for the bank’s wealth management organization.

Most recently, Peter was Chief Strategy Officer of News America Marketing, a former News Corp. subsidiary, where he built and led the Corporate Strategy and M&A function and led the company’s successful carve-out and sale to a private equity sponsor. In addition, for more than 20 years, Peter has been a contributing writer and researcher with The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and has led many qualitative and quantitative research projects, and written a number of influential white papers for the EIU, NBER, and other research institutions and media publications.

Peter holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from Zhejiang University in China, and is proficient in Mandarin, Russian, and Bulgarian.

Areas of Expertise: Enterprise Strategy, Strategy-to-Execution Best Practices, Digital Transformation