Alumni Profile: Paul Leff

BBA 1983, MS 1984
Co-founder and Senior Managing Director
Perry Partners, Ltd.

After a few years of working as a portfolio manager at Harvard Management, Paul Leff, BBA ’83, MS ’84, found himself itching for something a bit more entrepreneurial. So, he put his UW degrees to work and, alongside Richard Perry, set up a successful firm, Perry Partners, Ltd. As co-founder, partner, and senior managing director of the widely respected money management firm, Leff’s view from Wall Street today is certainly bright. Leff’s view also looks west, because there is a place a thousand miles from Wall Street that is immediate in Leff’s mind—Madison, Wisconsin.

Indeed, Leff is quick to credit Wisconsin’s School of Business for his success. For Leff, earning his master’s degree in the Applied Security Analysis Program (ASAP) at UW-Madison was a life-changing experience that gave him the tools and the connections he needed to truly launch his career.

“In my year there were 14 of us, and I feel we may be among the most successful group of investment professionals that the school, collectively, has had. These are people in leadership positions all across the investment management business. We are very loyal to each other.” In addition to helping him land his first job, the network of ASAP alumni has helped ensure continued business success for Leff and others on Wall Street. In both the past and the present, the School of Business has had a positive effect on Leff’s career.

Leff is playing an active role in keeping that Wisconsin tradition of success alive. In addition to serving on the Dean’s Advisory Board and ASAP board, he runs the Wisconsin Eastern Alumni Scholarship Fund (WEASF) in New York. Established 35 years ago, it seeks appropriate candidates from public high schools in the outer boroughs from underprivileged backgrounds. “We try to send as many minority students from the New York City area to UW as we can find.”

Leff also mentors and recruits UW graduates to Perry Partners and Wall Street in general. With people like Leff at work for Wisconsin, his view on Wall Street may soon become more populated with Badgers than ever before.