Mark Donohue

In June 2008, Mr. Donohue was appointed Babson College’s first Clean Technology Entrepreneur-in-Residence. He is primarily teaching, and conducting research, within the Olin Graduate School and Arthur Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, yet he will also lecture in the executive education and undergraduate programs. Previously, he was the Founder, Managing Partner and Chairman of Expansion Capital Partners, LLC, a pioneer in Clean Technology venture capital investing, which manages over $100,000,000. Clean Technologies include resource efficiency and productivity improvements in areas such as biomaterials, waste technologies, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Mr. Donohue sold most of his interests in Expansion Capital in June of 2008.
During the last twenty years, Mr. Donohue has built three successful investment management and financial service companies. He has a broad background in venture capital, both on the buy-side and sell-side, plus he has served in senior operational roles for venture-backed enterprises. His career has focused on socially responsible business and investment, Cleantech investing, and social entrepreneurship.

In the past, Mr. Mark Donohue has been a member of numerous boards, including Chairing five entrepreneurial Boards of Directors. Mr. Donohue was the only venture capitalist to be a Founding Investor of the Cleantech Group, LLC, which is the leading conference and knowledge organization in the sector. He has served on the Cleantech Group’s advisory Board since its founding days.

Mark Donohue also serves in a variety of nonprofit roles, including the “Micro-Credit” Grants Committee of the Threshold Foundation. In the past, he was Chair of the Membership Committee for the Social Venture Network (the leading organization of executives furthering global sustainability) and a Trustee of the Temple of Understanding (America’s oldest interfaith educational organization).

Mr. Donohue earned his BS in Investment Management, with honors, from Babson in 1988. He has served on the college’s Board of Overseers since 2002. Mr. Donohue has been a leader in many Babson initiatives, such as establishing the Cruickshank Volunteer Fund in 1993, which he named after his mentor, Bill Cruickshank (B’49). This fund paid the cash expenses for community service projects, prior to the establishment of the Vernon Center. In 1994, he was the founder and Chair of Babson’s first “Forum on Socially Responsible Business,” which brought thirty leading CEO’s and foundation Executive Directors to campus, and was attended by 400 students. In 2006, he founded and funded the Donohue Clean Technology Speaker Series, which pays cash expenses for leading Cleantech authorities to come to campus. In 2007 and 2008, he was the Chairman of Babson’s Entrepreneurial Energy Expo, which recently attracted over 450 attendees.

Mr. Donohue has been active in alumni relations since his student days. He has served on the Babson Annual Fund Executive Committee (1989-1990), the President’s Society Executive Committee (1990-1996) and the Major Donors Committee (1992-1996), among other leadership roles.