Gregg Hymowitz


Gregg Hymowitz is chairman, chief executive officer and founder of EnTrust Global, a diversified alternative investment firm. He is known as an activist investor, approving a $650 million investment in Nestlé in May 2017.

Early life and education

Hymowitz is from Bellmore, New York. In 1990, he graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School with a JD, and received a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1987. He was the 1985 Harry S. Truman Scholar from New York, the 1987 British Hansard Society Scholar and the 2004 recipient of the Governor's Committee on Scholastic Achievement Award.

Career

He began his career as an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom where he focused on mergers and acquisitions before joining Goldman, Sachs & Co. as a vice president in 1992. In 1997 he left Goldman to establish Entrust Global. The firm joined The Permal Group in 2016, assuming the name of EnTrustPermal, and rebranded to EnTrust Global in 2019. As of February 2020, Legg Mason owned 65% of EntTrust Global. In February 2020, Leg Mason was acquired by Franklin Resources for $4.5 billion. Instead of being incorporated into Franklin Resources as a result of the deal, Hymowitz agreed to make EnTrust Global an independent, private company by buying back Legg Mason's share of EnTrust. He also serves as Chair of EnTrust Global's Investment Committee, Compensation Committee and Financial & Control Committee, and is a member of the Blue Ocean Executive Committee.

Activist Investing

In 2013 Hymowitz, as head of Entrust Capital, raised approximately $600 million for funds controlled by shareholder activists. In 2018 a large portion of the capital Hudson Executive Capital LP acquired for its stake in Deutsche Bank investment came from Hymowitz’s EntrustPermal. EnTrust Global has a 25% stake in Alma Capital, and is a co-investor with the US-based activist firm Third Point LLC, with a $650 million stake in Nestlé.
Hymowitz has suggested that activist investing helps investors identify the best investment opportunities.
During the Covid-19 crisis of 2020, Hymowitz said that activist investing, so that one has an impact on company decisions, is a good investment strategy for the period of economic dislocation.

Board membership

Hymowitz is on the Advisory Board of Quibi, a streaming video platform that offers short-form, mobile content. He was a member of the Board of Trustees at Montefiore Medical Center and served two terms as a trustee of the Riverdale Country Day School.