Marc Rowan

Rowan graduated summa cum laude from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania, commonly called Penn, is a private research university and Ivy League member in Philadelphia. It traces its origins to a 1740 charity-school project; Benjamin Franklin proposed his academy in 1749, classes began in 1751, and a 1791 merger established the institution under its present name. Penn has 12 schools, with undergraduate education concentrated in arts and sciences, engineering, nursing and Wharton. Enrollment totaled 29,384 in fall 2025, and the fiscal 2025 endowment was $24.81 billion. As of October 2026, J. Larry Jameson was president, with his term scheduled to end on June 30, 2027.Open the full entry’s Wharton SchoolWharton SchoolThe Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania. Established through Joseph Wharton’s gift in 1881, it offers undergraduate, MBA, doctoral and executive education.Open the full entry with a B.S. in finance in 1984 and an M.B.A. in finance in 1985.⁠[1]

In 1990 Rowan left Drexel; Apollo was founded that year, with Rowan as one of its co-founders. Apollo founder Leon Black said in 2021 that Rowan, Josh Harris and he had built the firm over more than 30 years.⁠[2][3][4]

The retirement services company Athene was founded in 2009. Rowan served on the board of Athene Holding Ltd., including its executive committee, from 2009 until August 2025. In January 2022 Apollo and Athene completed their merger under one publicly traded parent company.⁠[3][5]

On March 22, 2021, Apollo announced that Rowan had formally succeeded Leon Black as CEO under the succession plan announced that January, with former SEC chairman Jay ClaytonJay ClaytonJay Clayton (Walter Joseph Clayton III) is an American lawyer and government official who has served as U.S. Director of National Intelligence since August 2026 and, from October of that year, also as the White House’s head of artificial intelligence affairs (“AI czar”). He practiced at Sullivan & Cromwell for more than two decades, chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020 and was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2025 to 2026.Open the full entry becoming non-executive chairman. Rowan said, “Leon has been a terrific partner and leader for over three decades and I am honored to take the reins.”⁠[4]

In 2025 Rowan became chair of Apollo’s board of directors, serving thereafter as co-founder, CEO and chair of the company.⁠[3][1]

On May 27, 2026, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry (a16z) released “Marc Rowan on Private Markets, Software Repricing, and Capital Allocation,” in which a16z general partner David HaberDavid HaberDavid Haber is an investor and entrepreneur and a New York-based general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). He previously invested at Spark Capital, co-founded small-business lender Bond Street and worked in Goldman Sachs strategy after its acquisition of the company.Open the full entry spoke with Rowan; on a16z’s YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel it was published as “The $1 Trillion Firm That Refuses The Private Equity Label | a16z.”⁠[2][6]

The conversation covered how Apollo grew into one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, the rise of private credit and the role of private markets in financing the real economy, AI, data centers and robotics, and the intersection of venture-backed technology companies with large-scale private financing; they also discussed leadership, institutional culture and why enduring organizations must adapt rather than protect the status quo.⁠[2]

Rowan has served as chair of the Wharton School’s Board of Advisors and chair of the board of UJA-Federation of New York; he is a founding member and chair of the Youth Renewal Fund, vice chair of the Israeli educational network Darca, and an initial funder of and contributor to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research initiative.⁠[1][5]