Paul Blavin

Paul is the co-founder and CEO of Mercy BioAnalytics. He began his career in 1986 as an investment banker with Citibank and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. He then served as the President of First Mercury Financial Corporation, a publicly traded insurance company. He also co-founded and managed a private investment partnership – PWB Value Partners, L.P. – which began in 1995 with three investors and $3.2 million under management. Over 14 years, the business grew to more than 80 investors and approximately $2.0 billion, consistently outperforming the S&P 500 Index, net of all fees and expenses.

Paul’s primary philanthropic focus is youth life transformation for those who need it the most and are least able to help themselves. Paul and Amy, his wife of 29 years, have immersed themselves in many programs including: Blavin Scholars at the University of Michigan and Northern Arizona University; Freehab, which provides free, residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation for 18-25 year old women in residence; and Thrive Scholars, an elite post-secondary education opportunity for the most ambitious students (poor and almost all of color) in America’s lowest-performing public schools, among others.

In 2015, Paul began an effort to harness the power of exceptional art to inspire hope, compel action, and ignite lasting impact. He is the Executive Producer of The Hunting Ground, an exposé on the epidemic of sexual assaults on college campuses, and Lady Gaga’s “Til It Happens to You” a Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar nominated original song written by Lady Gaga and Diane Warren. Paul is also the founding financier of One Community, a film and television co-financing company that harnesses the power of storytelling to inspire and encourage positive change in the world.

Paul was born and raised in Southfield, Michigan just outside of Detroit. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with High Distinction with a BBA from the University of Michigan and earned an MBA at Harvard Business School.