Leader in global finance and institutional strategy reelected to the Board of Tulane

Jeanne C. Olivier, a prominent leader in global finance and institutional strategy, has been reelected to the Board of Tulane. Olivier previously served on the university’s board from 2004 to 2016.

“Jeanne was a member of the Board of Tulane during a period that included the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the beginning of our current unprecedented growth and momentum as one of the nation’s leading research universities,” President Michael A. Fitts said. "As Tulane continues its historic upward trajectory, Jeanne’s knowledge, insight and guidance will again prove invaluable in moving the university ever forward.”

“It is an honor and privilege to be reappointed to the Board of Tulane and to have the opportunity to serve the university in this capacity,” Olivier said. “Tulane has achieved unbelievable success and is changing the world through its ground-breaking scholarship and lifesaving advancements that are discovered by working at the intersection of fields and disciplines. I look forward to supporting the leadership team as it embarks on the transformation of the downtown campus into a national center of innovation and destination health care in the heart of New Orleans.”

Olivier served 40 years as a partner at the global law firm Shearman & Sterling, LLP, where she was co-head of the global project development and finance group. Her practice primarily focused on sovereign debt restructuring, as well as project finance and development in Latin America. In 2023, Shearman & Sterling merged with United Kingdom Magic Circle member Allen & Overy, forming A&O Shearman.

As a distinguished leader in project finance, Olivier received recognition from Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The International Who’s Who of Project Finance Lawyers and Guide to the World’s Leading Project Lawyers in Project Finance. During the Latin American debt crisis, she played a central role in restructuring the sovereign debt of Argentina, Brazil and Panama. Her expertise also extended to advising both a working committee for Argentina and a bank advisory committee for Panama in connection with the Brady Plan, a major debt relief initiative introduced in 1989 under President George H. W. Bush to help countries, especially in Latin America, deal with massive debt crises.

Olivier graduated magna cum laude from Newcomb College with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1975 and received a Watson Fellowship for postgraduate study abroad. Through her fellowship, she spent a year visiting facilities for the aged in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. She also conducted policy-oriented research on housing for senior citizens. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1979.

For more than two decades, Olivier has served Tulane with distinction through volunteer leadership. She is a current member of the National Campaign Council – Tri-State. In addition to her previous service on the Board of Tulane, she has been a member of the Tulane Fund Advisory Board, the Newcomb Foundation Advisory Board of Trustees and chair of several reunion committees, among other roles.

Her Tulane ties extend across her family, including siblings and relatives who have earned degrees from the Law School, the School of Medicine, the School of Science and Engineering and the School of Liberal Arts.

Olivier has also served for many years on the board of directors of the Thomas J. Watson Foundation and on the executive committee of the board of directors of the Foreign Policy Association. She is a member of the state board of directors of the Connecticut Audubon Society and, since its inception, has been the board chair of Deer Pond Farm Sanctuary, a nature preserve and wildlife sanctuary in Connecticut. In addition, Olivier has served on the board of advisors for the University of Pennsylvania Law School and on the board of the Institute of Law and Economics at UPenn. She was also a member of the board of directors of Hope Ignites (formerly Boys Hope Girls Hope).