Ralph V. Whitworth

Ralph Victor Whitworth was born on October 12, 1955, and grew up in rural Nevada, in the mining town of Winnemucca, where his father worked as a geologist and mining engineer. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, and went on to receive his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985. His early career in Washington included service on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee staff of Senator Paul Laxalt from 1981 to 1984.

Whitworth built a distinguished career in corporate governance and investment. He served as president of the United Shareholders Association from 1986 to 1994 and worked as an assistant to the general partner at T. Boone Pickens' Mesa Limited Partnership. In 1996 he co-founded the investment management firm Relational Investors LLC with David Batchelder, which grew to manage approximately $6 billion. A widely respected advocate for shareholder rights, he was known for engaging major corporations on governance issues.

Over the course of his career, Whitworth chaired the boards of Waste Management Inc. and Apria Healthcare Group, and served as interim chairman of Hewlett-Packard from 2013 to 2014, in addition to board service at numerous other public companies. He remained devoted to his home state through his philanthropy, endowing a fund bearing his name at the University of Nevada, Reno, and supporting schools in Humboldt County. He died on September 29, 2016, at the age of 60.