Sam Hendel joins Yale Schwarzman Center Advisory Board

New Haven, Conn. — Yale Schwarzman Center announced that Sam Hendel has accepted a role as a member of the Schwarzman Center Advisory Board. Hendel is the Managing Partner of Chord Music Partners and Dundee Partners. He founded Chord in 2021, a joint venture with Universal Music Group, which serves as Universal’s global catalogue acquisition vehicle. 

Prior to working in the music industry, Sam co-founded Dataminr, the world’s leading real-time AI company valued at over $4 billion, and spent 20 years in investment management, serving as president and portfolio manager of Easterly Investment Partners. An alumnus of Yale College, Class of 2003, Hendel is co-founder of Accelerate Yale, a global community of alumni and friends of Yale University who are engaged in innovation, tech, and entrepreneurship.

Yale University President and Schwarzman Center Advisory Board Co-Chair Maurie McInnis said, “I am thrilled to welcome Sam Hendel to the Schwarzman Center Advisory Board. Sam’s extensive experience in music, technology, and investment management will bring a dynamic and multifaceted perspective to our board. The skills he brings from different sectors will help us find new ways to connect and work together to share knowledge, inspire creativity and innovation, and engage with a wide range of perspectives.”

Schwarzman Center Advisory Board Co-Chair Stephen A. Schwarzman, Yale Class of 1969, said, “Sam Hendel’s expertise in music, technology, and finance makes him a valuable addition to the Advisory Board. We are excited to have him join and look forward to his contributions to the Center and Yale Community.”

Yale Schwarzman Center Executive Director Rachel Fine said, “Sam Hendel’s appointment to our Advisory Board is a wonderful addition. His passion for the arts and his diverse professional background will be instrumental in guiding the Schwarzman Center’s initiatives to foster creativity, connection, and cultural vitality. We warmly welcome Sam to the team.”

The Schwarzman Center Advisory Board, assembled in 2019, serves as a consultative body that brings together leading artists and arts supporters to provide strategic and professional insights. Hendel joins the following current Schwarzman Center Advisory Board members:

Maurie McInnis, BA, MA ’90, PhD ’96 (Co-Chair)
President, Yale University

Stephen A. Schwarzman ’69 (Co-Chair)
Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone

Isha Ambani ’13
Reliance Jio

Bruce Cohen ’83
Filmmaker

Renée Fleming Hon. Music ’20
Opera Singer

Kamilah Forbes
Executive Producer, Apollo Theater

Shawn Levy ’89, P ’25
Film & Television Director/Producer

Carol LeWitt
Director, LeWitt Collection

Tod Machover
Composer, Technologist, Professor, MIT Media Lab

Mary McCartney P ’21
Photographer, Director, Food Writer/Ambassador

Audra McDonald Hon. Music ’16
Actress and Singer

Lorne Michaels P ’20
Creator & Executive Producer, Saturday Night Live

Laurence Milstein ’17
Co-founder, PRZM

Daryl Roth
Broadway Producer

Christine Schwarzman
Broadway Producer

Kara Unterberg
Founder, The New York SongSpace and Philanthropist

READ coverage in Billboard's Executive Turntable 

Yale Schwarzman Center appointed music catalog investor Sam Hendel to its advisory board. A Yale College alumnus (Class of 2003), Hendel is co-founder and managing partner of Chord Music Partners — a joint venture with Universal Music Group and Dundee Partners, the investment office of the Hendel family. He previously co-founded Dataminr, a leading AI company, and spent two decades in investment management. Hendel also co-founded Accelerate Yale, a global alumni network focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. Schwarzman Center co-chair Stephen A. Schwarzman praised Hendel’s “expertise in music, technology, and finance” as a “valuable addition to the board, which also includes Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and stage legend Audra McDonald.