Richard Sarnoff is partner and chairman of media, entertainment, and education for KKR’s private equity platform in the Americas, and serves as a member of the TMT growth equity investment committee. From 2014 to 2017, he served as managing director and head of the media and communications industry group, leading investments in the media, telecom, information services, digital media, and education sectors in the United States. From 2011 to 2014, Sarnoff was a senior adviser to KKR. Sarnoff currently serves on the board of directors of Chegg, Weld North, UFC, and WedMD, as well as numerous nonprofit organizations.
Until 2011, Sarnoff was a longstanding senior executive at Bertelsmann AG, Europe’s largest media company, serving as EVP and chief financial officer of Bertelsmann’s book publishing division, Random House, for eight years. In 2006, Sarnoff established Bertelsmann’s digital media arm, BDMI, and as president, oversaw the corporation’s global investment activities in digital media. Sarnoff served on the supervisory board of Bertelsmann AG for six years. In 2008, he was named co-chairman of Bertelsmann’s U.S. holding company, Bertelsmann Inc. Sarnoff holds a BA from Princeton University in art and archaeology and an MBA from Harvard University.