Greenwich Library is honored to to have an amazing committee for the Peterson Business Award Dinner, the Library’s premier event that recognizes extraordinary achievements of local business leaders and serves as the primary fundraiser supporting the library's mission to serve the Greenwich community. This year, the Peterson Business Award Dinner will honor Ray Dalio, the founder and CIO mentor of Bridgewater Associates. The Peterson Business Award Dinner will be held on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenwich, Connecticut, with Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont presenting the award. For more information, visit greenwichlibrary.org/peterson.
Leading the committee are co-chairs Susan Bevan, Lawrence F. Codraro, Jr., and Sharon Phillips, who represent a group of more than 60 dedicated committee members representing the Greenwich Library's Board of Trustees, Friends of Greenwich Library and committed volunteers.
“Everyone at Greenwich Library appreciates the committee’s dedication in putting together the wonderful Peterson Business Award Dinner, which underscores the community’s interest in the Library’s success and its role as an intellectual and cultural hub,” said Greenwich Library Board of Trustees President Peggy Edersheim Kalb. “The Peterson Business Award Dinner is the Library’s primary fundraiser, supporting the Library’s mission to provide exceptional resources, programs and services that promote the joy of lifelong learning and discovery. This year we are thrilled to honor Ray Dalio, who exemplifies how dedication, hard work and a truly global outlook, can transform an industry and a community. His achievements in finance and his philanthropic efforts around the world - and especially here in Greenwich - make him a perfect recipient of the Peterson Business Award.”
Greenwich Library and its two branches serve 62,000 Greenwich residents, providing an array of programs and services for preschoolers, teens, adults and seniors. The Library serves as the hub for Greenwich’s diverse community and operates as a public/private partnership with the Town of Greenwich. While the Town funds the Library’s core operating expenses, all programs, classes, training, speakers, concerts and performing arts performances are funded entirely by charitable donations and through the Peterson Business Award Dinner.
The Peterson Business Award Dinner, established in 1997 by Greenwich Library and the Peterson Foundation, is a biennial event that recognizes and honors individuals whose innovative thinking, leadership and sustained record of achievement have had a profound impact on the national and global economy, and whose words and deeds have demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and open access to information. The Peterson Business Award is named in honor of Clementine Lockwood Peterson, whose 1992 bequest of $25 million made possible a new 32,000 square-foot wing at the Greenwich Library. Designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, this wing contains expanded business and music collections. Mrs. Peterson’s gift was made in memory of her son, Jonathan, and her husband, J. Whitney Peterson. The Peterson Business Award was conceived in order to celebrate Mrs. Peterson’s extraordinary generosity and to recognize outstanding business leadership.
Past recipients of Peterson Business Award include some of the country’s most prominent corporate leaders such as Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, Cliff Asness of AQR Capital, and Chuck Royce, among other business luminaries.
This year, the dinner celebrates Ray Dalio, who is a global macro investor who founded Bridgewater Associates out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City before moving to Connecticut. Ray ran his company for most of its 47 years, building it into the fifth most important private company in the United States, according to Fortune magazine. His investment innovations (e.g., risk parity, alpha overlay, and All Weather) changed the way global institutions approach investing. He has been a valued macroeconomic advisor to many policymakers around the world. Because of the impact his thinking has had on global macroeconomic policies, he was named by TIME magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” Today, Ray remains an investor and mentor at Bridgewater and serves on its board. He is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Principles: Life and Work (2017), Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises (2018), and Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order (2021). Ray graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from C.W. Post College in 1971 and earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1973. He has been married to his wife Barbara for more than 40 years, with three sons and five grandchildren.
Committee members include: Maxine Armstrong, Leslee Asch, Hank Ashforth, Seung Bak, Jenny Baldock, Judy and Peter Berg, Nancy Better, John Blankley, Rosario Brooks, Bey-Shan C. Liu, Susan Carroll, Alexandra Codraro, Michael Donohue, Peggy Edersheim Kalb, Haley and Joe Elmlinger, Anne Farrell, Alexandra Feldstein, Leslie and Tom Foley, Sharon Fortenbaugh, Karen Free Royce, Michael Freitag, Mario and Regina Gabelli, Mark Gaston, Marty Gendell, Francine Gingras, Todd Goergen, Andy Herr, Tracy Holton, Karen Keegan, Renee Ketcham, Joni and Kevin Kimberlin, John Knox, Lin Lavery, Mary Ellen LeBien, Elizabeth and James Lindstrom, Cricket Lockhart, Virginia Lyddane, Sue and Steve Mandel, Robert Marks, Asha Marsh, Hilary Martin Lea, Mary and Garrett Moran, Will Morrison, David Mullen, Ian Murray, Barbara Netter, Jane and Michael Perelman, Philip R. Lochner, Jr., Barbara Richards, Richard Rohr, Catie and Stephen Salyer, Pete Schwartzstein, Diana Seaton, Fi Fi Sheridan, Jill Stauffer Cobbs, Sophia Tawil, Matthew Todd, Terry Tuthill, Annette Wilson, Elisa Wilson and Helaine Winer.
About Greenwich Library
The Greenwich Library system consists of the Main Library and its Byram Shubert and Cos Cob branches. The mission of Greenwich Library is to provide exceptional resources, programs and services that promote the joy of lifelong learning and discovery, and to offer a welcoming place to gather and share experiences. With 1,800 programs and events per year, the Library seeks to serve as the cultural and intellectual crossroads of the community. Greenwich Library’s circulation is among the highest of public libraries in Connecticut and has been named a five-star library by Library Journal for 11 of the past 12 years for the high number of patron visits, circulation, use of public computers and program attendance. Greenwich Library is located at 101 West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich. Cos Cob Library is located at 5 Sinawoy Road in Cos Cob. Byram Shubert Library is located at 21 Mead Avenue in Greenwich. More information is available online at www.greenwichlibrary.org or by calling 203-622-7900.
Photo caption: Greenwich Library Board of Trustees President Peggy Edersheim Kalb with Peterson Business Award Dinner committee members Haley Elmlinger and co-chair Sharon Phillips. More than 60 committee members are working on the Peterson Business Award Dinner honoring Ray Dalio on April 4, 2024.