Adam Levinson ‘88 honored as the 2023 Distinguished Alumni at Alumni Weekend

Adam Levinson ‘88 was honored as our 2023 Distinguished Alumni at Alumni Weekend, held May 19 & 20th.

Head of School Bart Bronk introduced Levinson to the more than 150 alums, including members of the Class of 1988 who were celebrating their 35th reunion that were in attendance, saying Levinson has had a remarkable path since graduating in 1988 — one that has taken him around the world, living in Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York and Los Angeles — all the while supporting academic initiatives.

“Through his professional successes, Adam has shown an incredible commitment to civic and philanthropic endeavors, especially those that support educational initiatives in communities he has called home, including Los Angeles, Ithaca and Detroit,” Bronk said. “At Cornell, Levinson and his wife Brittany endowed the China and Asia-Pacific Studies Program. And he is a founder and Board member of the Detroit Children’s Fund, which since 2014 has invested nearly $20 million to ensure that every child in Detroit has access to a quality education and schooling.”

When accepting his award, Levinson said he was deeply humbled and honored to be in the company of previous Distinguished Alumni Award recipients. He said he remembers his time on Cook Road fondly — especially his classes with Gene Overton and his time on the debate team with coach Michael Blashfield.

“I have no doubt that who I am today is because of the foundation that was laid when I was a student at ULS,”Levinson said.

Also during Alumni Weekend 2023, Levinson spoke to Upper School students and shared wisdom about his career path. He reminded them of the importance of being lifelong learners, of being curious, flexible, and resilient, of leaning into competition with joy, and of seeing failures as the ultimate learning opportunities.

“Life is not linear,” Levinson told the students. “You are always one decision away from going in a different direction.”

Levinson is the founder, managing partner, and CIO at Graticule Asset Management Asia (GAMA), an independently owned Singapore-based alternative investment management firm with offices in Singapore and New York. Prior to that, he was a Principal and member of the Management Committee of Fortress Investment Group. At Fortress, he served as the chief executive officer of Fortress Investment Group (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., chief investment officer of the Fortress Asia Macro Funds, and co-chief investment officer of the Fortress Macro Funds.

Prior to joining Fortress in June 2002, Levinson was a fund manager at Tudor Investment Corporation and a proprietary trader for ten years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., moving between Hong Kong, Tokyo, London and New York, managing portfolios of G10 and emerging market risk. Additionally, Levinson was the Head of Foreign Exchange at Goldman Sachs Japan from 1998 to 1999.

Levinson is a former member of the Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee (FXEMC) and serves on the advisory board of Greater Pacific Capital LLP and as an External Member of the Investments Sub-Committee of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is also the co-founder of Revolution Cannabis, a privately-held craft MSO based in Chicago.

Levinson received a B.A. in government, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University. He lives between Singapore, Tokyo and Los Angeles with his wife, Brittany and their three children.

Previous Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are:

Businesswoman Lisa Black ‘77,
Pediatric infectious disease physician and vaccine researcher Dr. Kristen Feemster ‘91
C-SPAN co-founder John Evans ‘62 GPUS
Washington Post foreign correspondent Keith Richburg ‘76
Retired Rear Adm. Stanley W. Bryant ’64 GPUS
Businessman Richard Baron '60 GPUS
Businesswoman Denise Ilitch '73
Businessman Bill Shelden ’68 GPUS
Federal Magistrate Judge Nita Stormes '72
Broadcast news journalist Miles O'Brien '77
Carhartt heir and Board Chairperson Gretchen Valade '45 CDS
Founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson '36 DUS
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides '78