Kenan and Andrea Sahin
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: TIAX, Kenan Systems
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Arts and Culture
OVERVIEW: Kenan Sahin and his wife, Andrea, do not appear to have a formal philanthropic organization but make donations to Boston arts and cultural institutions. Sahin also made a record-breaking grant to his alma mater MIT.
BACKGROUND: Born in Turkey, Kenan Sahin received his B.S. and Ph.D. from MIT. Sahin served on the faculties of MIT, Harvard and UMass Amherst. In 1982, he founded telecommunications software company Kenan Systems with $1,000. Sahin went on to found TIAX, a collaborative product and technology development firm.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: In the late 1990s, Kenan Sahin made a $100 million pledge to his alma mater MIT. Sahin is a life member of the MIT Corporation.
ARTS & CULTURE: Kenan and Andrea Sahin have supported arts and cultural organizations like Museum of Fine Arts Boston (where Sahin once served on the board) and Tanglewood Music Center, the summer academy of Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). The center is the site of the Andrea and Kenan Sahin Fellowship and Sahin sits on the board of BSO.
OTHER: Sahin’s other board memberships include the Argonne National Laboratory, the National Manufacturers Association, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and the executive committee of the Council on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C.
LOOKING FORWARD: Apart from his major donation to MIT nearly two decades ago, it appears that Sahin has mostly engaged in low profile giving. It’s unclear if the Sahins will ramp up their giving and establish a formal charitable vehicle.
CONTACT:
