Kristin Mugford is a former director at Bain Capital, who now teaches courses on finance at Harvard Business School. She is involved in left-of-center politics as a contributor to Democratic politicians and left-of-center interest groups, most prominently serving on the board of directors of the Democratic establishment-aligned think tank the Center for American Progress, where she is also a donor. She has contributed large amounts of money to left-wing candidates and groups, especially in the 2016 election cycle, for which she spent over $177,000. ¹

Early Life and Business Career

Kristin Mugford grew up outside of Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Both of her parents were involved in business. ² She received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1989 and went on to receive her MBA from Harvard Business School in 1993. She worked for several years for the different divisions of the Disney Corporation, before joining Bain Capital in 1994. ³ In 1998 she became Bain Capital’s first female director and it was in this capacity that she helped to found Bain Capital Credit which specializes in distressed debt. When she retired it had over $30 billion in assets under management. ⁴ Following her retirement from Bain Capital, Mugford became a lecturer at the Harvard School of Business, a post she currently holds. ⁵

Nonprofit Involvement

Mugford is on the board of directors of the Center for American Progress (CAP). ⁶ As of 2019, her public involvement is limited to presenting on a conference panel discussing if corporations are too focused on short-term returns to shareholders versus long term investment. ⁷

While exactly how much Mugford has donated to CAP is unknown, she donated between $5,000 and $49,999 every year from 2014 through 2017. ^{8 9 10 11}

Campaign Contributions

In the 2015/2016 election cycle, Mugford donated over $177,000 to left-wing candidates and groups. This includes $50,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund, over $33,000 to the Democratic National Committee, and $10,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She also donated to 34 state-level Democratic parties. ¹²

Mugford donated $94,200 during the 2014 election cycle,¹³ $22,500 in the 2012 cycle, and $29,700 in the 2018 cycle. ^{14 15}

1. “Individual Contributions | MUGFORD, KRISTIN WILLIAMS 2015/2016.” Federal Elections Commission, n.d. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2016&contributor_name=Kristin+Mugford&min_date=01%2F01%2F2015&max_date=12%2F31%2F2016.
2. “WEDDINGS; Kristin Williams, Stephen Mugford.” The New York Times, January 10, 1993. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/10/style/weddings-kristin-williams-stephen-mugford.html.
3. “Kristin Williams Mugford.” LinkedIn.com, n.d. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-williams-mugford-5b476a8/.
4. “Kristin Williams Mugford.” Hbs.edu, n.d. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=98534.
5. “Kristin Williams Mugford.” Hbs.edu, n.d. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=98534.
6. “Board of Directors.” AmericanProgress.org, n.d. https://www.americanprogress.org/about/c3-board/.
7. Creating Long-Term Value: Panel 2 “Quarterly Capitalism & Long-Term Value.” Center for American Progress, 2015. Creating Long-Term Value: Panel 2 “Quarterly Capitalism & Long-Term Value”.
8. “Our Supporters 2014.” AmericanProgress.org, n.d. https://www.americanprogress.org/c3-our-supporters-2014/.
9. “Our Supporters 2015.” AmericanProgress.org, n.d. https://www.americanprogress.org/c3-our-supporters-2015/.
10. “Our Supporters 2016.” AmericanProgress.org, n.d. https://www.americanprogress.org/our-supporters-2016/.
11. “Our Supporters 2017.” AmericanProgress.org, n.d. https://www.americanprogress.org/our-supporters-2017/.
12. “Individual Contributions | MUGFORD, KRISTIN WILLIAMS 2015/2016.” Federal Elections Commission, n.d. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2016&contributor_name=Kristin+Mugford&min_date=01%2F01%2F2015&max_date=12%2F31%2F2016.
13. “Individual Contributions | MUGFORD, KRISTIN WILLIAMS 2013/2014.” Federal Elections Commission, n.d. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2014&contributor_name=Kristin+Mugford&min_date=01%2F01%2F2013&max_date=12%2F31%2F2014
14. “Individual Contributions | MUGFORD, KRISTIN WILLIAMS 2011/2012.” Federal Elections Commission, n.d. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2012&contributor_name=Kristin+Mugford&min_date=01%2F01%2F2011&max_date=12%2F31%2F2012
15. “Individual Contributions | MUGFORD, KRISTIN WILLIAMS 2017/2018.” Federal Elections Commission, n.d. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&contributor_name=Kristin+Mugford&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=12%2F31%2F2018