Bio

Bernard Aronson is a Founder and Managing Partner of ACON Investments. Prior to co-founding ACON in 1996, Mr. Aronson was International Advisor to Goldman Sachs for Latin America. From 1989 through 1993, Mr. Aronson served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs under Presidents Bush and Clinton. Following his tenure, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the State Department’s highest honor. Mr. Aronson serves on the Board of Directors of Sequitur Energy Resources, an ACON fund portfolio company. Mr. Aronson has previously served on numerous boards of ACON fund/investment vehicle portfolio companies, including among others, Mariner Energy (NYSE:ME) and Northern Tier Energy (NYSE:NTI). Mr. Aronson previously served on several public company boards, including Hyatt Hotels, Royal Caribbean International and Liz Claiborne. He currently serves on the board of Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LIND). In addition, Mr. Aronson is a Director for the National Democratic Institute and the Amazon Conservation Team. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomats. In February 2015, Mr. Aronson was asked by President Obama to serve as U.S. Special Envoy for the Colombian peace process. Following his service, he was again awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Mr. Aronson has published opinion pieces in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New Republic and The Huffington Post, among other publications. Mr. Aronson holds a B.A. with Honors in Humanities from The University of Chicago.