Mike McCaffery
Pennsylvania & Merton 1975
Born just outside Philadelphia in 1953, Mike McCaffery studied at Princeton before going to Oxford to read for a second undergraduate degree in PPE (philosophy, politics and economics). On returning to the US, he worked at Goldman Sachs and then attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business. McCaffery went on to become president and CEO of Robertson Stephens, president and CEO of the Stanford Management Company and founder of Makena Capital. He served on boards of directors of KB Home, Inc. and Nvidia, Inc. He is currently on the board of C3.ai. Mike is a Trustee Emeritus of the Rhodes Trust, where he has played a key role in the reinvigoration of the Rhodes Scholarship. This narrative is excerpted and edited from interviews with the Rhodes Trust on 24 October 2024.
‘You got to do nothing else unless you got good grades’
Both my parents’ families were part of the immigration to the US from Ireland. My dad went to college on a track scholarship, the first in his family to get a college degree. After college he was drafted into the Korean War. He got two master’s degrees on the G.I. Bill. My mother never went to college, but she was extremely smart and creative, and I would say the number one influence in our lives was my parents’ devotion to education. They demanded that we pay attention in school, and rule number one was that you got to do nothing else unless you got good grades.
I went to big Catholic schools for elementary and high school. It was factory-based education, and I often reflect just how well they did with the few resources they had. I had a wonderful experience, and there was a lot of excellence. I started competitive swimming at a very young age, and I swam for at least two hours each day. I did some debating in high school too, and I was president of the student council. With my academic work and swimming, that was pretty much my life, along with some great friendships.
On applying for the Rhodes Scholarship
At Princeton, I studied public and international affairs in what was then called the Woodrow Wilson School. It meant I could take more classes in more departments, and I really enjoyed it. One real highlight was the chance to be part of what was called the Policy Task Force at the Wilson School, working with Professor Klaus Knorr, where a group of us were given a policy problem to work on, in this case, how to reduce the Department of Défense budget.
It was another of my professors, the classicist Frank Bourne, who really persuaded me to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship. I had thought that after graduation, I would have to get a job straight away. I was from a blue-collar background, and if I wanted to go on to law or business school, I needed to earn the money to do it. But Frank talked me into applying for the Rhodes. My dad said, ‘Hey, Michael, people like us don’t win Rhodes Scholarships,’ but when I spoke to my brother and said, ‘What do you think?’ he said, ‘Well, when was the last time you applied for something and lost?’
Throughout the application process, I was convinced there was no way I would ever get this thing. Whenever people apply for a Rhodes and ask me for advice, one of the things I say is, ‘Assume you’re never going to win,’ because the odds against it are so high.
‘Oxford was like Mars’
My Rhodes classmates and I sailed over to the UK together, which was wild for me. I’d never been out of the country before. Princeton had been different enough for me, coming from parochial Philadelphia, but Oxford was like Mars. Luckily, I got good advice: Nick Allard (New York & Merton 1974) had told me to apply to Merton, because the food was good!
Oxford was very demanding academically, but I liked the experience of studying PPE, and the tutorial system had a huge impact on my ability to read critically and write very concisely and impactfully. I also made wonderful friends, who I’m still in touch with now. I hadn’t planned to continue my swimming career, but then I joined the Oxford University Swimming Club, and I ended up as captain of the team in my second year. We travelled around Europe to compete during vacations, and in termtime, I just structured my time and studied hard. It was a great time in life.
‘I wanted to build organisations that would be groundbreaking’
After going down, I moved to New York and ran into a friend of mine who was at Goldman Sachs, and he suggested I interview there. They put me on the trading desk, and I was fortunate to have good mentors, but I was still at a disadvantage because I didn’t have an MBA. By that time, Margaret and I were married, and we decided to move to San Francisco so I could go to Stanford. I was laser-focused, on the academics at Stanford because Margaret was paying the bills and I felt responsible to her. During the summers, I worked at Hambrecht & Quist and got really interested in Silicon Vally and the technology finance area, which was very new and very high risk at that time.
I was recruited into Robertson Stephens and was there for 12 years. After we sold the firm to Bank of America, I was recruited to manage the Stanford endowment, including its real estate which is extensive: the sixth largest mall in the world, ten million square feet of office space in the Stanford Research Park, seven equestrian centres, Christmas tree farms, and more. It was a portfolio of businesses that was really entertaining, and it was meaningful to have the chance to give back to Stanford in that way.
It was around 2002 that I began advising the Rhodes Trust informally under Warden John Rowett. I was made a Trustee in 2007 under Warden Sir John Lucas, it was in the middle of the global financial crisis. We needed to raise money, but we knew that without a proper investment and development infrastructure and a sound governance model, nobody would donate. So, a group of us got to work. Under Warden Don Markwell, we put in place a new set of trustees, and we helped the University start the new Oxford University Endowment Management Fund (OUem) as their second client. I was also a Board Member of Oxford University Endowment Management for at least half that time, starting close to its inception. I provided the founding CEO with the start-up operating agreement of OUEM which looks oddly familiar to the Makena Capital Operating Agreement.
We were lucky to have some brilliant and dedicated individuals involved, particularly Don Gogel (New Jersey & Balliol 1971), Dominic Barton (British Columbia & Brasenose 1984) and Andrew Banks (Florida & St Edmund Hall 1976). Of course, what really brought us back to square one was the extraordinary generosity of John McCall MacBain (Québec & Wadham 1980). Today, I feel really good about where the Trust is financially and about the people running the Trust.
After running Stanford Management, the last business that I started and ran was Makena Capital. I’m an entrepreneur, and I wanted to build an organisation that would be groundbreaking in the investment industry. I think that, arguably, we built the most successful outsourced CIO business out there. We manage upwards of about 20 billion dollars for foundations, endowments and family offices. I left the CEO’s position some years ago, but I continue as chairman of the board. I’m also lead independent director of C3.ai, the number one AI-based enterprise software company on the planet. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the career path I’ve had, and I would say what’s most memorable about it is just being surrounded by outstanding, smart, high-integrity people. I thank all of them.
‘Stay humble’
Margaret and I were both taught, from a very young age, that you must work very hard to be successful in life. Don’t complain about small things, and have a thick skin, because you’re not always going to win or succeed. You also need to realise that other people will not be as fortunate as you are, and you have a responsibility to them, whether you like it or not. That was reinforced when I was in residence as a Rhodes Scholar. It wasn’t overdone, but we had an appreciation of how lucky we were. And, that we needed to be concerned about the world around us. And, figure out a way to make it better.
I pinch myself about how fortunate I’ve been to have the success I’ve had, and I love working with others and mentoring them to share the lessons I’ve learned. I really want to see other people do well. To today’s Rhodes Scholars, savour every minute of your time in Oxford. It’s a special place. And as you leave Oxford and get into the next part of your life, stay humble. Don’t ever forget that the Rhodes is different from a straight up academic scholarship. You were chosen because, as well as being highly successful, you can lead, and you understand the moral high ground. However I have led my life, I have always honestly thought that I wanted to do it in a way that would enhance the reputation of the Rhodes Scholarship.