When Steve Ellis graduated from the University of California in 1985, he had earned All-America rugby honors and national collegiate championships under two head coaches, to go with undergraduate degrees in History and Economics.

Ellis followed up his dual Cal degrees and an MBA from Stanford into a prolific career as a business executive, elected to an unprecedented three terms as Global Managing Partner/CEO at Bain & Company before becoming CEO of Asurion, the world's leading provider of technology protection services with over $6 billion in revenues. He next served in a full-time volunteer role with the Chancellor's office on financial and budgetary matters before taking on his current position as a Managing Partner at TPG in San Francisco.

At TPG, he is Co-Managing Partner of The Rise Fund, the largest global impact fund in the world, with more than $5 billion in assets committed to achieving measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes. Ellis characterized its focus, which centers on education, renewable energy, food and agriculture, financial inclusion, healthcare and technology sectors, as a mission "to invest in businesses and management teams that do well by doing good."

Ellis remains a vital ally to the campus today, offering leadership to the rugby program, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and beyond.

"Not only was Steve a valuable contributor by giving talks while he was at the helm of Bain & Company, he was also a valuable mentor to me, providing great advice on how to bring the Haas School to new heights," said Richard K. Lyons, the Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer for UC Berkeley who hosted Ellis as a guest speaker while Dean of the Haas School of Business.

Rugby head coach Jack Clark echoed the appreciation for his former player's achievements as an undergraduate and an alumnus.

"As much as it was a pleasure to coach Steve and the great teams he was a part of, it has been equally rewarding to work with him to sustain Cal rugby's place at the University," Clark said.

Ellis shared his gratitude for the hard work among the University's leadership ranks and its alumni, which he believes will guide the Cal community through its toughest challenges.

"Whether it's the pandemic, the social justice movement, our political discourse or the economic fallout from 2020, now is the time this support system can be at its highest value," Ellis said. "It's moments like this when we benefit from all the work that has gone into building the bonds between generations of the Cal community."

Ellis sits on the boards for The Bridgespan Group, DreamBox Learning, Everfi, InStride and Charles Schwab, as well as the California Rugby Advisory Board (CRAB), which advises the rugby program and advocates for its economic stability. CRAB Chairman Irving "Bud" Lyons called Ellis "an incredibly impressive businessman, with a deep love for the rugby program and the entire University, whose input as a board member has been critical."

Love for the Bears has always been a natural progression for Ellis, whose arrival in Berkeley continued a Cal tradition. Steve's father, Hal Jr., was a football player out of Piedmont High School who was a varsity letterman for the legendary Pappy Waldorf as a Bear in 1951 and '52.

At Cal, Hal Jr. met Virginia Lee Roach, who was also studying Economics. Together, after his graduation, they traveled to Morocco, where Steve's father served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force for two years before the couple returned to Piedmont to start a family. Back stateside, Mr. Ellis founded and became chairman and CEO of Grubb & Ellis, one of the nation's largest commercial real estate firms.

Steve grew up going to Golden Bear football games from an early age and became a three-sport varsity athlete at Piedmont High, competing in track, football and soccer. In 10th Grade, he added rugby as a fourth sport, joining the local Piedmont youth rugby club.

In Berkeley, where Steve followed in the Cal footsteps of not only his parents, but also his sister, Melinda, Ellis joined the Rugby Bears as a freshman in 1981-82 under then-head coach Ned Anderson. Off the pitch on campus, Ellis was elected president of his fraternity. In the classroom, he earned membership into the Honor Students' Society.

After the 1983 championship, a 13-3 win over Air Force, Anderson handed the reins to Clark, a two-sport Cal standout who had played for the U.S. National Rugby Team before returning to Berkeley as an assistant coach in 1982. After the Bears reached the Pacific Coast finals in 1984  - Clark's first season - Cal beat Maryland 31-6 for the 1985 national title with Ellis leading the backline.

"Leading up to the 1985 championship, we had narrowly won four consecutive titles and narrowly lost in 1984," Clark said. "Conversely, the '85 team won most of their matches by wide margins. Steve was one of several All-Americans on the best team we had that decade."

Ellis recalled the satisfaction that came from the fulfillment of the 1985 team's potential.

"After the adversity we faced in 1984, bringing the team together for the pursuit of a common goal in 1985 and ultimately achieving it remains one of my greatest sources of fulfillment." he said.

Years later, after marrying his wife, Karen, and having three children, sons Ryan and Tyler, and daughter Grayson, Steve was the Global Managing Partner at Bain & Co. when the consulting firm played a significant role in the release of Operational Excellence, a campus-wide analysis that offered pathways to save the University a potential $100 million, with the Chancellor and his Steering Committee ultimately recommending $75 million in annual operational cost savings.
 

Within a relatively short time, Ellis engaged further, this time with a pro-bono examination of Intercollegiate Athletics by Bain. Released in 2012, that report included recommendations to reduce the Golden Bears' dependence on institutional support and increase revenue.

In 2015, Ellis returned to Cal again, this time volunteering full-time for nine months that had been intended as a sabbatical between Asurion and his new role at TPG. His expertise helped campus leaders deal with a significant deficit.

"In each of these instances, I wanted to give back to the University in ways that leveraged my business skills and experience in driving organizational change." Ellis said.

When he was finished, he focused again on the rugby pitch for the Cal Rugby Positional Endowment Campaign, creating the Ellis Rugby Center Endowment in 2017.

"Steve has been instrumental in every philanthropy campaign we have launched: Cal Rugby Forever, The Next 100 Years, Save Cal Rugby, Every Man Pledges and the Positional Endowment Campaign, where he endowed the Center position," Clark said. "Steve is a very loyal, generous and celebrated Cal rugby stakeholder."

Ellis extends his support in myriad ways around and beyond campus, giving his time and mentoring young graduates while supporting a range of causes in the community, from the fight against melanoma, which took his father's life in 2009 following his mother's passing in 1984, to the support for new fields, courts and a community pool as a lead member of the Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization.

Today, Ellis sees the need for support more than ever. He most recently made a gift to the Athletic Director's Excellence Fund in the "Roll On" campaign for Intercollegiate Athletics. This and other gifts continue to be accompanied by important contributions of time and experience to the University's leadership.

"I have been really impressed by Chancellor Carol Christ and Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton," Ellis said. "Their persistence, perseverance and vision have served us well. Their leadership has strengthened our resilience not just to make it through this turbulence, but to come out of it stronger than ever."

Ellis added that the core principle of giving back can continue to guide the entire campus to prosperity.

"As graduates, we have an enormous responsibility to do what those who came before us have done, which is to support our programs," he said. "That's how the ecosystem not just survives, but thrives."

That tradition continues to ensure the future of the Rugby Golden Bears, with everlasting gratitude for Steve Ellis and all the supporters of the oldest Intercollegiate sport at the University of California.