Chuck Royce, chairman and portfolio manager of Greenwich investment firm Royce & Associates, was honored as the thirteenth recipient of Greenwich Library’s Peterson Business Award at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenwich on March 3. Current U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo presented Mr. Royce with this prestigious award via video, as she was in Washington D.C. following the annual State of the Union address, during which she served as the designated survivor.
The award was presented at the 2022 Peterson Business Award Dinner, which benefits the Greenwich Library. Approximately 285 prominent business and community leaders attended the dinner, which is held every other year and is the Library’s only major fundraiser. The event raised $630,000 to support the Library’s current services and programs, as well as fund new initiatives. Longtime business journalist and WealthTrack creator and host Consuelo Mack facilitated a conversation with Mr. Royce at the event.
When presenting the award to Mr. Royce, Ms. Raimondo said, “By any measure, Chuck has been a huge success in business. But Chuck has also dedicated his life to building communities, philanthropy, historic preservation, and education.” In his acceptance speech, Mr. Royce talked about how he began his career discovering the value in small capital market companies and that for him, work isn’t work – it’s a way of life.
Chuck Royce is entering his 60th year in the investing industry, and his 50th with his namesake firm. Recognized as a pioneer in small-cap investment – meaning those businesses with market capitalizations under $2 billion – Royce has built a career focusing on finding profitable futures for smaller companies. He is a graduate of Brown University and has a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia University. A longtime trustee at Brown, he established the Royce Fellowship in 1996 to help fund undergraduate research around the world.
Mr. Royce serves as a trustee for the Frick Collection, the Bruce Museum, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and the Compass Rose Society. Previous trusteeships include the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Greenwich Historical Society, New York Historical Society, Christ Church Greenwich, and warden of the vestry of Trinity Wall Street. Mr. Royce enjoys historic restoration and revitalization projects; he led the award-winning renovation of a Victorian-era seaside hotel, Ocean House, in Rhode Island a similar restoration of the Deer Mountain Inn in the Catskill village of Tannersville, NY. Mr. Royce and his wife Deborah split their time between Greenwich; Watch Hill, Rhode Island; and Palm Beach, Florida. He has four children, two stepchildren, and numerous grandchildren.
Gina Raimondo is a former venture capitalist and governor of Rhode Island. Ms. Raimondo is a graduate of Harvard University, has a master’s and doctorate from Oxford University (where she was a Rhodes Scholar), and a law degree from Yale University. In 2010, she was elected General Treasurer of Rhode Island, jumpstarting her political career. In March 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris swore her in as the 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce. She and her husband, Andy, have two children and a rescue Yorkie, Sparky.
The Peterson Business Award was established in 1997 by the Greenwich Library and the Peterson Foundation to “recognize and honor an individual whose innovative thinking, leadership, and sustained record of achievement has had a profound impact on the national and global economy, and whose words and deeds have demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and open access to information.”
The Peterson Business Award is named in honor of Clementine Lockwood Peterson, whose 1992 bequest of $25 million made possible a new 32,000 square-foot wing at the Greenwich Library. Designed by renowned architect César Pelli, this wing contains expanded business and music collections. Mrs. Peterson’s gift was made in memory of her son, Jonathan, and her husband, J. Whitney Peterson. The Peterson Business Award was conceived in order to celebrate Mrs. Peterson’s extraordinary generosity and to recognize outstanding business leadership.
For additional information, please contact Lisa Mandel, Greenwich Library Development Director, at (203) 622-7957 or lmandel@greenwichlibrary.org.
