About Us

Emily Blavatnik is Co-Chair of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. A lifelong patron of the arts, she dedicates her philanthropy to world-class cultural institutions, as well as charities that care for underprivileged and underserved children.

A longtime benefactor of the New York City Ballet, Emily also supports Alvin Ailey, American Ballet Theater, and Carnegie Hall.

She sponsors causes that benefit underserved families, in particular through the Ronald McDonald House and the Fresh Air Fund. She supports women’s health and reproductive rights through major gifts to Mt. Sinai Women’s Health Center and Planned Parenthood, among others.

Born and raised in New York, Emily received her BA in Art History from New York University.

Sir Leonard and Lady Blavatnik have been married since 1994 and have four children together.

Alex Blavatnik is Senior Advisor to the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Additionally, Alex oversees the Blavatnik Archive, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and disseminating materials that contribute to the study of 20th-century Jewish and world history, with a special emphasis on World War I, World War II, and Soviet Russia.

The Hon. Sir Michael Pakenham, KBE, CMG, has been Senior Advisor to Access Industries and the Blavatnik Family Foundation since 2004.  His first career was as a British diplomat, which included postings to embassies in Washington, New Delhi, Brussels (EU), Paris and Luxembourg (as Ambassador). In London he served as Cabinet Secretary for Overseas and Defence Affairs, as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and as Intelligence Coordinator. His last diplomatic posting was as British Ambassador to Poland.

Since then he has pursued Blavatnik interests in philanthropy, education, culture, and political causes. These have included the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford, the Tate Blavatnik Building, the Blavatnik Wing at the National Portrait Gallery, and the Blavatnik Fine Rooms at the Courtauld Institute. He has also served as Vice-Chairman of the Council of King’s College, London. He is a Freeman of the City of London, and a Distinguished Friend of Oxford.

Born in Oxford, Michael was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Rice University, Texas.

Peter L. Thorén is Executive Vice President of Access Industries and Head of the Access Family Office. He is a director of Access Industries and also manages the Blavatnik Family Foundation, which has contributed over $1 billion to scientific, educational, cultural, and other charitable institutions throughout the world over the past decade.

Prior to joining Access in 2001, Peter served in senior management positions with Salomon Inc and Walker Digital and was an attorney with Rogers & Wells law firm in New York.  Peter serves on the boards of The New York Academy of Sciences, The Better Angels Society, The Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund, and Columbia University’s School of Engineering.

Peter graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Georgetown University Law Center. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Since 2022, Lisa Shields has been Executive Vice President of Strategic Communications at Access Industries and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

Previously, Lisa spent more than two decades leading global communications at the Council on Foreign Relations, the country’s most prestigious nonpartisan foreign policy think tank, membership organization, and publisher of Foreign Affairs.

Over the course of her career, she has advised a broad range of high-profile intellectuals, advocates, and artists on media, social media, and marketing strategies. Lisa began her professional life reporting and producing for news magazines and specials at ABC News, the A&E Network, and Thirteen/WNET.

She received her BA in international affairs and economics from the American University of Paris and her MS from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.