Penny is a Co-Founder of Inspired Capital. 

In addition to Inspired Capital, Penny is the founder and Chairman of PSP Partners and its affiliates, Pritzker Realty Group, PSP Capital, and PSP Growth. 

Penny and Alexa’s partnership began when Alexa was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. Co-founding Inspired Capital was a natural next step to unite their shared commitment to fostering entrepreneurship in America and around the world. Penny, a repeat founder and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration, has dedicated her career to uplifting visionary founders tackling urgent global challenges. With a focus on diverse industries, Penny is especially passionate about supporting solutions aimed at reducing financial inequality, transforming healthcare, and combating climate change.

More About Penny: 

Penny is an entrepreneur, civic leader, and philanthropist, with more than 30 years of experience in numerous industries. She has launched a number of other businesses over the course of her career, including founding Vi Senior Living (formerly known as Classic Residence by Hyatt) and co-founding The Parking Spot and Artemis Real Estate Partners.

Penny is a member of the boards of Microsoft Corporation, DEPT and Icertis. She is also the former executive chairman of the board of TransUnion and is a past board member of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, Marmon Group, and LaSalle Bank Corporation.

In July of 2022, Penny was elected as the Senior Fellow (chair) of the Harvard Corporation and is the first woman to hold the position. In addition to those roles, she is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Economic Strategy Group, member of the Obama Foundation Board and co-chair of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Advisory Council.

Penny previously served as President Biden’s Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, chairman of the board of trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and cofounder and board chair of Chicago-based civic-tech organization P33. She also was formerly a member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, the board of trustees of Stanford University, the Harvard University Board of Overseers and founded Skills for America’s Future. She also served on President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and his Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Penny earned a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and a J.D. and M.B.A from Stanford University. Penny and her husband, Dr. Bryan Traubert, co-founded the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation that works to foster increased economic opportunity for Chicago’s families.