Charles R. Conn is a Canadian and American CEO, conservationist, and author of Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything. In 2019 he was the CEO of Oxford Sciences Innovation. Previously, he was the warden and global CEO of Rhodes House and the Rhodes Trust, the organization responsible for administering the Rhodes Scholarship from 2013 to 2018.
Biography
Conn studied at Boston University's University Professors Program before reading philosophy, politics and economics at Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar from Massachusetts.Conn subsequently worked at the Boston Consulting Group and gained an MBA at Harvard Business School. Conn was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on growth strategies and energy.Charles R. Conn#cite note-3|He co-founded Citysearch in 1995, and in 1997 the California Software Industry Council named him Entrepreneur of the Year. Conn oversaw the merger with Ticketmaster, acquisition of Match.com and the company’s public share offering. He became chairman of Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch in 2001. Conn subsequently worked as senior advisor to the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation] where his projects included the preservation of wild salmon ecosystems and the Palmyra Atoll research station. He is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Conn also sits or has sat on several company and non-profit boards or advisory committees, including Patagonia, the Arcadia Foundation, the Oxford Internet Institute, Trout Unlimited, and the Atlantic Salmon Federation.] He acts as an adviser and investor in start-up technology companies via a private investment company, Redjuice Capital, that focuses on clean technology solutions and related areas. He has taught problem solving at Harvard and Oxford, and to the Schmidt Science Fellowship, Kauffman Fellowship, and Rhodes Scholarship programs.
Rhodes Trust
Conn was warden and CEO of the Rhodes Trust from June 2013 to August 2018. He was the first American to hold this position, and the first Warden of Rhodes House not to have served previously on the University of Oxford faculty. During his time as CEO of Rhodes House, Conn led a project to transform the Rhodes Trust into a 21st-century institution. This involved raising in excess of £250 million to secure the endowment for existing country scholarships and expand the scholarships globally. During his time as warden the annual number of scholars increased from 83 to 101, adding China, UAE, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, East Africa, West Africa and new global Rhodes Scholarships. During Conn’s tenure, the Trust started a convening program of current and alumni fellows. The Trust also pioneered several new partnerships, including with Atlantic Philanthropies to set up the Atlantic Institute and with the Eric & Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation to establish Schmidt Science Fellows.Charles R. Conn#cite note-16| Other partnerships included the Said Foundation, Templeton Foundation and Schwarzman Scholars program. * Since moving to Oxford, Conn has become a trustee of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa, and an advisory board member of the Oxford Internet Institute.Charles R. Conn#cite note-17| In January 2014, he became a Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford University.Charles R. Conn#cite note-18| Conn announced his retirement as warden of Rhodes House for the end of his five-year term, in August 2018.Charles R. Conn#cite note-rhodes resignation-19|
Oxford Sciences Innovation
In March 2019, Conn was appointed CEO of , the £600m investment company formed in partnership with the University of Oxford to develop the University’s deep science and technology ideas. He was joined by new Board Director Patrick Pichette, former CFO of Google. Both he and Pichette departed OSI towards the end of 2019.
Personal life
Conn was married to Beverley Robertson,Charles R. Conn#cite note-20| they have three children together. His partner is Camilla Borg,Charles R. Conn#cite note-21| who was a member of the staff of Rhodes House as director of special projects.Charles R. Conn#cite note-22|
Publications
Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything, ; 2019. Thinking About Historical Legacies: Looking for Just Principles and Processes, ; 2018. Robbing the Grandchildren: Foundations’ shortsightedness is jeopardizing the planet’s future, ; 2007. Conservation Biologythrough the Lens of a Career in Salmon Conservation. ; 2011. He was a co-author of in McKinsey Quarterly.
