Purdue Board of Trustees chairman announces retirement

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Keith Krach, chairman of the Purdue University Board of Trustees, has announced that he will retire from the board, having completed two full terms. His departure will be effective at the conclusion of the July 19 board meeting.

Krach has served on the board for six years and as chairman for the past four. During Krach's tenure, Purdue has seen record levels of research funding, higher retention rates, increases in reputational rankings and philanthropic giving of more than $1 billion. Krach served as the chairman during the 2012 Purdue presidential search, as well as the transitions from President France A. Córdova to interim President Tim Sands to President Mitch Daniels.

"Serving Purdue as a trustee has been one of the greatest privileges of my life," Krach said. "I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve this great university and am profoundly proud of the work our board has done. It has been my honor."

To ensure a smooth transition, Krach will preside over his final trustees' meeting on July 19, when a new chairman will be elected.

"While it has been a difficult decision to leave a role I have loved so much, Purdue has incredible momentum and couldn't be in better hands. We have top-notch leadership on our board and a world-class president in Mitch Daniels," Krach said.

Tom Spurgeon, vice chair of the board, said, "Keith has been a dynamic leader for our board and our university, playing a key role in making Purdue a highly respected institution and one that takes great pride in serving our students, our state, our nation and our world. It has been an honor to serve with Keith and to share his passion for all things Purdue."

Krach serves as the chairman and CEO of a San Francisco-based company, DocuSign, the global standard in electronic signature. He also serves as the chairman of the board at Angie's List.

"Purdue has a long history of outstanding board members and board leaders and Keith Krach has added to that legacy," Daniels said. "Keith and all of our board members work exceptionally hard to provide guidance and leadership, always in the best interest of our university. We are deeply grateful for his service and know he will remain a loyal Boilermaker."

Krach earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Purdue in 1979 and an MBA from Harvard in 1981. He then worked at General Motors and was named the youngest-ever vice president at 26. He went on to become a renowned Silicon Valley entrepreneur, best known for pioneering business-to-business e-commerce through his co-founding of Ariba, one of the fastest-growing software companies in history. He served as CEO and chairman for seven years, taking Ariba public in 1999. Ernst & Young named Krach the 2000 National Entrepreneur of the Year, the same year in which he was honored at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with the Technology Pioneer Award.

A longtime supporter of Purdue, Krach, through a 2009 gift from the Krach Family Foundation, created an endowment to fund student leadership scholarships and a speaker series. In addition, Krach's philanthropic endeavors include co-founding the Children's Autistic Network, serving on the Board of Governors for Opportunity International, the largest issuer of micro loans in the world, and being named as the international president for the Sigma Chi Fraternity (2005-2007), with over 250,000 members.

Krach has five children, Monika (Princeton '08), Stephen (USC '11), Carter (Purdue expected '14) and 2-year-old twins JD and Emma. Krach and his wife, Metta (B.A. UCLA; J.D. Georgetown) call both California and Indiana their home.

Writer: Purdue News Service, 765-494-2077

Source: Keith Krach, Office of the Board of Trustees, 765-494-9710