Bruce V. Rauner, a 1981 graduate of Harvard Business School (HBS), recently gave a major gift to the school to establish a professorship in business administration that bears his name.

Rauner is managing principal of Golder, Thoma, Cressey and Rauner, Inc. (GTCR), a firm specializing in acquiring and consolidating service businesses such as those that deal in laundry equipment, propane distribution and funeral homes, according to information obtained from HBS.

"We are enormously grateful to Bruce for his generous support of the School," Business School Dean Kim B. Clark '74 said in a press release.

"Through this professorship, he is making a lasting impact on the research and course development that are the heart of the Harvard Business School's mission," he added.

Rauner, who is 40 years old, is one of the youngest alumni in the school's history to endow a faculty position.

"I saw no reason to hold off until I'm older or retired to share my good fortune," Rauner said.

"For quality institutions, time matters. Why make them wait to implement their vision?"

Although Rauner intended to concentrate in biology and chemistry while attending Dartmouth College, he wound up graduating with a degree in economics.

He entered HBS shortly after finishing Dartmouth and then went on to work at a startup company called Golder, Thoma, Cressey.

Rauner became a principal in the business in 1984 and his name became a part of the company name in 1987.

In the past 10 years, GTCR has returned roughly 30 percent on companies in its portfolio for an average of eight years before selling them or taking them over, according to a press release.

Despite the company's tremendous success, Rauner said he expects to work there for about another decade before moving on to do other work in the nonprofit sector. He is also considering entering the political arena.

Rauner also recently made a major donation to support a professorship at Morehouse College in Atlanta as well as a special collections library at Dartmouth, according to information obtained from HBS.

The Business School would not reveal the amount of the gift.