Thomas L. Monahan III

Thomas L. Monahan III is president and chief executive officer of DeVry University. He is responsible for articulating the University’s vision, mission and values with internal and external stakeholders, as well as supporting and enhancing the institution’s academic mission and overall operations.

In partnership with the University’s leadership team, colleagues and faculty, Monahan drives execution and innovation aimed at three objectives: ensuring DeVry’s current and future students realize their career ambitions through in-demand degree programs; enabling employers to bring their strategies to life through partnerships that meet their needs for in-demand skills; and helping society meet the urgent need to reskill working adults to thrive in a work world reshaped by technology and automation. Building upon the existing strengths of the University, Monahan advances DeVry as a high-quality institution providing career-oriented education, with unique, inclusive and innovative degrees and non-degree programs that integrate technology, business, science and the arts.

Before joining DeVry, Monahan spent more than two decades as a leader, CEO and Chairman of CEB, a best practice insights and technology company. As part of the CEB's leadership team, Monahan helped redefine how the world's leading companies make their most important decisions by tapping the collective experience and analyzing performance data from more than 10,000 companies, including more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500. Under his leadership, the firm was one of the fastest growing professional/information service companies globally and became one of the most respected authorities on talent, commercial operations, performance management, and diversity, equity and inclusion. By the time CEB was acquired by Gartner in 2017, the company was on track to generate more than a billion dollars in annual revenue, with more than 4,500 employees.

Across his years with CEB, Monahan led the firm’s efforts on a wide variety of topics, including innovation and technology processes, operating and reputational risk, the structure and role of the financial sector, and employee productivity and performance. He became a widely quoted authority on management issues, particularly risk management, corporate governance, and ethical leadership.

Before joining CEB, Monahan worked with Deloitte, the Committee for Economic Development, and Andersen Consulting.

Monahan is currently serving as the Chairman of ProKarma, Inc., a digital technology company within The Carlyle Group portfolio. He is also a board member of Transunion (NYSE: TRU), Chair of its Audit & Compliance Committee, and a member of its Compensation Committee; Workforce Logiq (a Carlyle Group portfolio company); Winsight (a Pamlico Capital portfolio company); and, until its October 2018 sale, Convergys (NYSE: CVG), where he served as Chair of the Compensation Committee. Monahan also acts as an advisor to several private equity and venture capital funds, including MissionOG. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and the Economic Club of Washington D.C. Monahan also taught and guest lectured on the topics of data analytics, digital business, and service-based business models at a number of university business schools, including Georgetown, University of Maryland, and Dartmouth.

He is passionate about causes that create healthy, equitable, and just societies, and has founded/served on the boards of a number of highly innovative and impactful non-profit organizations. Monahan currently serves as a trustee of The Nature Conservancy (Maryland/DC Chapter). He was a founding and longtime board member of the PeaceTech Lab, a nonprofit which aims to reduce violent conflict using technology, media, and data. He was a founder of The Sorkin Center for Nonprofit Governance, and now serves on its Advisory Council. He has also served as a trustee of The Maret School.

Monahan holds an undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Harvard University and received his MBA with distinction from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.