Cindy Padnos (MSIA ’80, BBA)

Cindy Padnos has enjoyed a notable career in the tech industry, with roles ranging from management consultant and serial high-tech entrepreneur to her current position as founder and managing partner of Illuminate Ventures.

A passionate advocate for expanding the role of women in the tech sector, her firm has helped raise hundreds of millions to fund dozens of early-stage enterprise software startups. Among other honors, Padnos was named one of the “Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley” by the New York Times and “Most Influential Women in Technology” by Fast Company. 

Padnos came to the Tepper School of Business to augment her liberal arts education with quantitative and analytic expertise and has remained a dedicated supporter of the school ever since.

Her service has included membership on the Tepper School Business Board of Advisors from its early days, serving as an advisor to Project Olympus and the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, participating in countless panels and student treks, and launching her firm’s class-year internship/student-in-residence program, which welcomes several Tepper School students annually.

Padnos’ support has included consistent giving for more than three decades, as well as establishing the Cynthia Padnos Scholarship for Women in Business and naming the director’s office of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship in the Tepper School Quad.