Raymond J. Harbert

Raymond Jones Harbert (born December 1958) is an American business executive, investor and philanthropist from Alabama. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Harbert Management Corporation (HMC), a global private investment firm with approximately US$8 billion of assets under management. Harbert has served on the board of trustees at Auburn University and became the namesake of the university’s Raymond J. Harbert College of Business following a $40 million dollar donation in 2013. Harbert is a member of the American Enterprise Institute's board of trustees.

Early life Raymond Jones Harbert was born in December 1958 and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. His father, John M. Harbert, founded Harbert Corporation, a large multinational construction company, in 1949. His mother, Marguerite Harbert, was a billionaire philanthropist.

Harbert graduated from Auburn University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in industrial management in 1982.

Career Harbert was appointed as vice president of business development at Harbert International, a subsidiary of his father's company, Harbert Corporation, in 1982. Over the next 20 years, HMC expanded and grew, opening offices around the US and Europe. HMC invests in real estate, energy, private equity and debt, venture capital, and the public markets. After a strong 10-year run under the HMC umbrella, Falcone became the majority owner of Harbinger, though Harbert remained a personal investor. Gray's claims differ from Harbert's claims.

Philanthropy Harbert serves on the board of trustees of his alma mater, Auburn University. In 2013, he pledged a US$40 million donation to its College of Business.

Harbert served on the board of directors of the Alabama Trust Fund. He also serves on the executive committee of the Birmingham Business Alliance.

Personal life Harbert is married to Kathryn Dunn Harbert and they have three children. They reside in Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. Harbert also owns a 10,000-acre farm in South Alabama, where he hunts quail and turkey.