On May 17, 2025, Archon Michael Psaros stood before the graduating class of Georgetown University and delivered a stirring address that blended humility, personal history, practical wisdom, and a call to moral leadership. With his characteristic depth and conviction, the co-founder and co-managing partner of KPS Capital Partners urged the Class of 2025 to live lives of purpose, faith, and fearless ambition.
“This is the most humbling thing that has ever happened to me and my family,” Psaros began, acknowledging the honor of receiving a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from his beloved alma mater. “Today is the biggest day of your lives,” he told the graduates, encouraging them to soak in the moment and to honor the generations of family whose sacrifices made their journey possible.
Psaros reflected on his upbringing in Weirton, West Virginia, a steel town built by immigrant families from Southern Europe. He shared how, as a boy who didn’t speak English until kindergarten, he expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and work at Weirton Steel. But everything changed when the mill faced closure. A bold employee-led buyout, led by investment banker Gene Kaelin, saved the town and sparked Psaros’s passion for capital, industry, and saving jobs.
“That moment was my epiphany,” Psaros said. “I witnessed the power of capital to transform American industry, and I witnessed the incredible power released when labor and management worked together.”
It was this moment that propelled him to Georgetown, and eventually to co-found one of the world’s most successful private equity firms. At Georgetown, he found the tools to compete, the moral compass to lead, and the lifelong friendships that continue to ground him. “The friends I made here are my brothers. I know when I wake up every morning, they are always here for me.”
Throughout his address, Psaros spoke proudly of his Greek heritage and faith, often weaving Greek phrases into his speech and drawing on personal and ancestral experiences to underscore timeless lessons.
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Find your passion, purpose, and mission. Choose a path that is true to who you are, not one shaped by money, prestige, or peer pressure.
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Stay rooted in faith. “Each of you has a divine spark and an immortal soul,” he said. “Faith will be your rock in both good times and bad.”
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Put family first. He credited his wife, Robin, for being the foundation of his life and success.
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Honor your name and reputation. “It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and a moment to lose it.”
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Work hard—then work harder. There is no substitute for effort, and no shortcuts to mastery. “At KPS, we say: you have to flat out bring it every day.”
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Play to win. Aim high, elevate those around you, and never settle.
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Be a lifelong learner. Stay intellectually curious and take prudent risks.
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Never give up. Channel the resilience of his grandfather, a survivor of the Asia Minor Genocide, who told him in Greek, “Μην φοβάσαι τη ζωή.” (“Don’t be scared of the life.”)
He also encouraged graduates to seek mentors, just as he had with Professor Reena Aggarwal, whose decades-long mentorship helped shape what is now the Georgetown-Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy.
Psaros concluded with an emotional plea for the graduates to remain engaged with Georgetown and each other: “We are all one family. We all share the same values and the same transformative experience. I encourage you to volunteer your time, invest your resources, and stay involved. I know you will.”
With pride and passion, he left the Class of 2025 with a final exhortation drawn from the teachings of Saint Ignatius:
“Go forth and set the world on fire.”
Photo Source: MSB Georgetown University and LinkedIn
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