Bio

Ron Burkle founded The Yucaipa Companies in 1986 and is widely recognized as one of the preeminent investors in the retail, manufacturing, distribution and hospitality industries. Ron has served as Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of numerous companies including Alliance Entertainment, Golden State Foods, Dominick's, Fred Meyer, Ralphs and Food4Less. Ron is Co-Chairman of the Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA, founder of the Ronald Burkle Foundation and he is broadly involved in the community. He is a trustee of the Carter Center, the National Urban League, Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy and AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). Ron was the Founder and Chairman of the Ralphs/Food4Less Foundation and the Fred Meyer Inc. Foundation. He was a member of the board of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Kaufman & Broad S.A. (Euronext: KOF), Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Music Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Ron has received numerous honors and awards including the AFL-CIO's Murray Green Meany Kirkland Community Service Award, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Man of the Year, the Los Angeles County Boy Scouts Jimmy Stewart Person of the Year Award and the APLA Commitment to Life Award.