Our Team

Senior Advisor Bios

Dick W. Boyce

Senior Advisor

Mr. Boyce recently retired from the partnership at TPG Capital, one of the largest global investment partnerships, owning 107 companies with over $140 Billion in revenue. He founded and led TPG’s Operating Group, which drives performance improvement across all the TPG companies, from 1997 to 2013. In his first role, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of J.Crew Group, Inc., from 1997-1999, and as a Board member from 1997-2006. He also served as the Chairman of both Burger King Corporation and Del Monte Foods. He currently serves on the board of LPL Investment Holdings and Vigilant Solutions, and is a senior advisor to HP Enterprise, Solamere Capital, and Expa. Prior to joining TPG, Mr. Boyce was a senior officer at PepsiCo. Inc. and was previously a partner at Bain & Company. He received a BSE from Princeton University and received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He served on the Mitt Romney 2012 National Board and currently serves the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution the National Council of AEI. Mr. Boyce has been married to Sandy for 28 years and has two sons.

Linda Childears

Senior Advisor

Linda Childears is an advisor to foundation donors and helps them clearly define their charitable intent to reflect their values and beliefs. She retired from the Daniels Fund in Colorado in April 2020 after serving as its President and CEO for 15 years. There she grew the foundation from $1billion to $1.5billion after distributing approximately $1billion in grants and scholarships. Prior to Daniels Fund, Linda served as the Chairman and CEO of Young Americans Bank for 15 years. Prior to Young Americans, she spent several years as President of Equitable Bank of Littleton and Vice President of First National Bancorporation, working with 16 affiliate banks. Linda has served on numerous bank boards over the years and is also a members of the boards of Firefly Autism, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and the Advisory Board for the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. She is the past Chair of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and has served on over 30 state/local boards and six national boards while chairing nine of them. They include Colorado Concern, Employers Council, Millennium Bridge Capital, Young Americans Bank, National Assembly, National Camp Fire, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Alliance for Choice in Education, American Red Cross—Mile High Chapter, Cherry Creek Business Improvement District, Colorado Association of Funders, Colorado Meth Project, Council on Foundations, Daniels College of Business, Dental Lifeline Network, Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, Denver Police Foundation, Denver Public Schools Foundation, DU Bridge Project, Foundation for Teaching Economics, Johnson & Wales University Advisory Board, Junior Achievement, Mile High United Way, OpenWorld Learning, and Young Americans Center for Financial Education. Linda has received multiple awards, degrees, and recognition for her service across the philanthropic space. The COMMIT Foundation is honored to have Linda's expertise as well a her savvy, grit, and presence as part of our team of teams.

Chris Hsu

Senior Advisor

Most recently, Chris Hsu served as the CEO of Microfocus. Prior to Microfocus, Chris was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, responsible for the company’s Financial Services business, Corporate Strategy and key global operational capabilities. Chris joined HP in 2014 as Senior Vice President of Organizational Performance to drive operational performance initiatives across the company. He also led the separation of HP into two companies – Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. Previously, Chris was a Managing Director at private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and a leader in the KKR Capstone operating group. In this role, he drove operational performance in KKR’s portfolio companies, supported operational diligence during the deal process and provided overall leadership to the KKR Capstone team. At KKR, Chris was also the lead operating partner on a number of portfolio companies, including Mitchell Software, Sedgwick, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Del Monte, Laureate, Sonos, and U.S. Foodservice. Earlier in his career, Chris held leadership positions at McKinsey & Company as well as General Mills and was a Captain in the US Army. Chris graduated as a Distinguished Cadet with a Bachelor of Science in mathematical economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also holds an M.B.A. with distinction from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Bill Kraus

Senior Advisor

Bill founded Mission BBQ with the desire to Serve, Honor and Thank America’s Heroes. The path that led him to the creation of the business included stints as a paperboy, caddy and bartender. Additionally, Bill spent 25 very rewarding years in the business of sports on both the Retail and Supplier side. During his time in sports, he was fortunate to have been a part of the original cast that built Under Armour. Bill oversaw the Sports Marketing efforts of Under Armour from 2001-2009 as the company grew their employee base from 20 to over 2000 and revenues climbed from $20million to $800million. Most importantly, Bill and his wife Rosemarie have been married 30 years and are the proud parents of Andrew, Alex, and Maggie.

Chris Thomas

Senior Advisor

Chris Thomas is a Co-Founder of the Detroit Mobility Lab, an entity dedicated to helping Detroit become one of the world’s foremost future mobility ecosystems. Prior to the Detroit Mobility Lab he co-founded Fontinalis Partners and worked to build it into one of the premier investment firms in next-generation mobility. While at Fontinalis Chris served as a Board Member for nuTonomy (acquired by Aptiv in October 2017) and Karamba Security and as a Board Observer at Ouster, Life360, and SmartKargo. Prior to Fontinalis Chris served in the U.S. Army as a Communications Officer in the U.S. and Iraq. Before joining the military, Chris worked as an Investment Banker at UBS within its Technology and Energy groups in New York and San Francisco. Additionally, Chris serves as an Executive in Residence for Mobility at the Quicken Loans Community Fund, a Senior Advisor to the COMMIT Foundation, and as a member of the Global Cleantech 100 expert panel. He is also a Co-Owner of Buddy's Pizza, the birthplace of original Detroit-style pizza, and an avid angel investor. Chris has previously served as the Chairman of Read to a Child, a national children’s literacy and mentoring nonprofit, and as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Personal Transportation Systems. Chris earned his Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Yale School of Management. While at Yale he served on the Honor Committee and graduated with distinction in former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s seminar on Faith and Globalization. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Economics and International Relations from Michigan State University. Chris is a resident of the City of Detroit where he lives with his wife and sons. He is a staunch advocate of connected communities, early childhood literacy, and the doctrine of the strenuous life.

Senior Advisor Bios

Dick W. Boyce

Senior Advisor

Mr. Boyce recently retired from the partnership at TPG Capital, one of the largest global investment partnerships, owning 107 companies with over $140 Billion in revenue. He founded and led TPG’s Operating Group, which drives performance improvement across all the TPG companies, from 1997 to 2013. In his first role, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of J.Crew Group, Inc., from 1997-1999, and as a Board member from 1997-2006. He also served as the Chairman of both Burger King Corporation and Del Monte Foods. He currently serves on the board of LPL Investment Holdings and Vigilant Solutions, and is a senior advisor to HP Enterprise, Solamere Capital, and Expa. Prior to joining TPG, Mr. Boyce was a senior officer at PepsiCo. Inc. and was previously a partner at Bain & Company. He received a BSE from Princeton University and received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He served on the Mitt Romney 2012 National Board and currently serves the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution the National Council of AEI. Mr. Boyce has been married to Sandy for 28 years and has two sons.

Linda Childears

Senior Advisor

Linda Childears is an advisor to foundation donors and helps them clearly define their charitable intent to reflect their values and beliefs. She retired from the Daniels Fund in Colorado in April 2020 after serving as its President and CEO for 15 years. There she grew the foundation from $1billion to $1.5billion after distributing approximately $1billion in grants and scholarships. Prior to Daniels Fund, Linda served as the Chairman and CEO of Young Americans Bank for 15 years. Prior to Young Americans, she spent several years as President of Equitable Bank of Littleton and Vice President of First National Bancorporation, working with 16 affiliate banks. Linda has served on numerous bank boards over the years and is also a members of the boards of Firefly Autism, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and the Advisory Board for the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. She is the past Chair of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and has served on over 30 state/local boards and six national boards while chairing nine of them. They include Colorado Concern, Employers Council, Millennium Bridge Capital, Young Americans Bank, National Assembly, National Camp Fire, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Alliance for Choice in Education, American Red Cross—Mile High Chapter, Cherry Creek Business Improvement District, Colorado Association of Funders, Colorado Meth Project, Council on Foundations, Daniels College of Business, Dental Lifeline Network, Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, Denver Police Foundation, Denver Public Schools Foundation, DU Bridge Project, Foundation for Teaching Economics, Johnson & Wales University Advisory Board, Junior Achievement, Mile High United Way, OpenWorld Learning, and Young Americans Center for Financial Education. Linda has received multiple awards, degrees, and recognition for her service across the philanthropic space. The COMMIT Foundation is honored to have Linda's expertise as well a her savvy, grit, and presence as part of our team of teams.

Chris Hsu

Senior Advisor

Most recently, Chris Hsu served as the CEO of Microfocus. Prior to Microfocus, Chris was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, responsible for the company’s Financial Services business, Corporate Strategy and key global operational capabilities. Chris joined HP in 2014 as Senior Vice President of Organizational Performance to drive operational performance initiatives across the company. He also led the separation of HP into two companies – Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. Previously, Chris was a Managing Director at private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and a leader in the KKR Capstone operating group. In this role, he drove operational performance in KKR’s portfolio companies, supported operational diligence during the deal process and provided overall leadership to the KKR Capstone team. At KKR, Chris was also the lead operating partner on a number of portfolio companies, including Mitchell Software, Sedgwick, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Del Monte, Laureate, Sonos, and U.S. Foodservice. Earlier in his career, Chris held leadership positions at McKinsey & Company as well as General Mills and was a Captain in the US Army. Chris graduated as a Distinguished Cadet with a Bachelor of Science in mathematical economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also holds an M.B.A. with distinction from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Bill Kraus

Senior Advisor

Bill founded Mission BBQ with the desire to Serve, Honor and Thank America’s Heroes. The path that led him to the creation of the business included stints as a paperboy, caddy and bartender. Additionally, Bill spent 25 very rewarding years in the business of sports on both the Retail and Supplier side. During his time in sports, he was fortunate to have been a part of the original cast that built Under Armour. Bill oversaw the Sports Marketing efforts of Under Armour from 2001-2009 as the company grew their employee base from 20 to over 2000 and revenues climbed from $20million to $800million. Most importantly, Bill and his wife Rosemarie have been married 30 years and are the proud parents of Andrew, Alex, and Maggie.

Chris Thomas

Senior Advisor

Chris Thomas is a Co-Founder of the Detroit Mobility Lab, an entity dedicated to helping Detroit become one of the world’s foremost future mobility ecosystems. Prior to the Detroit Mobility Lab he co-founded Fontinalis Partners and worked to build it into one of the premier investment firms in next-generation mobility. While at Fontinalis Chris served as a Board Member for nuTonomy (acquired by Aptiv in October 2017) and Karamba Security and as a Board Observer at Ouster, Life360, and SmartKargo. Prior to Fontinalis Chris served in the U.S. Army as a Communications Officer in the U.S. and Iraq. Before joining the military, Chris worked as an Investment Banker at UBS within its Technology and Energy groups in New York and San Francisco. Additionally, Chris serves as an Executive in Residence for Mobility at the Quicken Loans Community Fund, a Senior Advisor to the COMMIT Foundation, and as a member of the Global Cleantech 100 expert panel. He is also a Co-Owner of Buddy's Pizza, the birthplace of original Detroit-style pizza, and an avid angel investor. Chris has previously served as the Chairman of Read to a Child, a national children’s literacy and mentoring nonprofit, and as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Personal Transportation Systems. Chris earned his Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Yale School of Management. While at Yale he served on the Honor Committee and graduated with distinction in former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s seminar on Faith and Globalization. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Economics and International Relations from Michigan State University. Chris is a resident of the City of Detroit where he lives with his wife and sons. He is a staunch advocate of connected communities, early childhood literacy, and the doctrine of the strenuous life.