Christopher Payton

Founder and Managing Director

Prior to launching Ramus Leadership Group, Christopher Payton was a Senior Researcher and Teaching Fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has taught both Finance and Entrepreneurship to first year MBA students. Chris has published over thirty case studies on venture capital, private equity, and entrepreneurship and is an active consultant and advisor to several early-stage ventures.

A repeat entrepreneur and investor, he was formerly a Founder and Managing Partner of Academy of Executive Education, a corporate governance education and advisory firm serving central banks, financial institutions, and multinational corporations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In addition to leading the firm's business development efforts, Chris led consulting engagements and workshops for board members and senior executives on topics including corporate governance, investing in alternative assets, and risk management.

Earlier in his career, Chris was a private equity fund of funds investor, launching the U.S. operations of Man Group plc's private equity fund of funds business and later forming Hillstead Partners LLC, a manager of innovative structured private equity products.

Chris has a BMath in Management Accounting from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts, where he serves on the board of his community library and can be found cheering loudly on the sidelines or stands of youth sporting events.