Jeff Yabuki Named Sheldon B. Lubar Executive-in-Residence

Jeff Yabuki

Yabuki’s appointment offers a unique perspective to students from decades of renowned, global leadership experience

Jeff Yabuki, who served as CEO of Fiserv Inc. from December 2005 to May 2020, has been named the Sheldon B. Lubar Executive-in-Residence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business.

In this role, Yabuki will bring valuable lessons to the next generation of aspiring leaders, from his experience unlocking the best in companies – many of which are household names – to his passion for helping others realize their full potential. He will teach courses related to finance, technology and management, while serving as a mentor to students and a guest lecturer in other Lubar College courses.

“Our students stand to benefit immensely from the deep level of expertise and leadership experience that Jeff will bring to the classroom,” Lubar College of Business Dean Kaushal Chari said. “We are incredibly fortunate to welcome him as Sheldon B. Lubar Executive-in-Residence.”

Yabuki is currently chairman of Motive Partners, a specialist private equity firm focused on control-oriented growth and buyout investments in global fintech, an industry he has helped redefine throughout his career.

Renowned leadership experience

During Yabuki’s tenure as CEO of Fiserv, the organization evolved from a traditional holding company into a unified, global leader in financial services and innovative payments technology – nearly tripling in revenue and achieving a total shareholder return of 969% through the end of 2019. Under his leadership, Fiserv was routinely named among the “World’s Most Admired Companies” by Fortune magazine, and the brand became widely known with the naming rights of Fiserv Forum, the home of the Milwaukee Bucks.     

Prior to Fiserv, Yabuki spent six years at H&R Block and was most recently executive vice president and chief operating officer, where he led ambitious business-model transformations that positioned the organization for growth in the digital and physical world. Before that, he held a progression of leadership positions over 12 years at American Express.         

A history of helping others realize their full potential

Yabuki’s residency complements a lifelong pursuit to positively impact lives. In 1999, he founded the Yabuki Family Foundation to support innovative initiatives with a focus on mental and emotional health, family, education, arts and social justice.

In July 2021, the foundation announced a $20 million gift to Children’s Wisconsin, the largest single gift in the history of the institution, to transform the pediatric delivery model through the integration of mental and behavioral health-care services in primary and urgent care locations. When fully staffed by the end of 2023, the effort has the potential to benefit more than 175,000 kids, roughly a third of the pediatric population in southeastern Wisconsin.

In this next chapter, Yabuki says he looks forward to helping students at the Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business discover new perspectives and reach what’s possible.