D’Aniello To Be Convocation Keynote at Benedictine College
Dan D’Aniello
Benedictine College will celebrate the start of another academic year on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, with a formal All School Mass at 9:30 a.m. in St. Benedict’s Abbey Church, followed by the traditional Opening Convocation in the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium at 11:00 a.m. Benedictine College alumnus Fr. Paul Clark, from the Class of 2009, will deliver the homily at the Mass. The annual Convocation features a keynote speaker and this year Daniel D’Aniello, a global business leader and co-founder of The Lumen Institute, will address the gathering.
In 2003, D’Aniello and other Catholic business leaders were founding Trustees of The Lumen Institute, whose purpose is “to form business leaders and transform culture.” The Institute responded to a critical need for faith-based formation for business and cultural leaders, seeking to enhance their character, faith, and leadership skills through personalized and tailored formation, guided training and education. Today, Lumen has expanded into seven chapters located in the New York metropolitan area, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.
D’Aniello is also a co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset management company headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operating in 28 offices worldwide with over $435 billion in assets under management. Prior to forming Carlyle in 1987, D’Aniello was Vice President for Finance and Development at Marriott Corporation and a financial officer at PepsiCo, Inc. and Trans World Airlines.
He served in the United States Navy from 1968 through 1971 during which time he was a Distinguished Naval Graduate of Officer Candidate School and a Supply Officer aboard the USS Wasp. In 2016, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation awarded D’Aniello the Lone Sailor Award, which is given to Sea Service veterans who have drawn upon their military experience to become successful in their subsequent careers.
D’Aniello is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society, and holds degrees from Syracuse University and the Harvard Business School, where he was a Teagle Foundation Fellow.
The annual Convocation signals the end of “Beanie Week” at the college. The freshman class will be welcomed into the community of Ravens and will remove their beanies. The practice of freshmen wearing beanies dates back generations and Benedictine College may be the only college in America that still observes the tradition. This year, the college is celebrating another record year, welcoming one of the largest incoming freshman classes and the largest undergraduate enrollment in the history of the school.
