William Generett Jr.
William Generett Jr. serves as the seventh president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Pittsburgh Foundation. The Foundation’s board of director’s announced his appointment in May 2026.
A proven leader with a deep commitment to community, innovation and underserved populations, Bill has built a career setting and achieving bold visions through entrepreneurship, economic and workforce development, and civic engagement. His successes in growing southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy and expanding opportunities for upward mobility in Pittsburgh have rippled across the region and have become national models for other cities to follow.
Generett joined The Pittsburgh Foundation from Duquesne University, where he led the office of civic engagement and external relations since 2017. His duties included overseeing community engagement, corporate and foundation relations, and government affairs. He played a leading role in what has become one of Duquesne’s largest expansions in its history, driven by the successful IGNITE fundraising campaign that raised over $335 million and launched the university’s new medical school, the Nasuti College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Prior to Duquesne University, Generett founded and led Urban Innovation21 from 2009 to 2017. The groundbreaking public-private partnership became a national model for inclusive innovation. Urban Innovation21 provided approximately 100 technology companies and hundreds of small businesses with $15 million in incentives to help them grow, directly leading to the creation of more than 500 jobs. It developed a pro bono legal program with Reed Smith that provided more than $1 million in legal services to 44 high-growth companies. On the Northside, Generett fostered an $8.8 million public-private partnership between Urban Innovation21, Buhl Foundation, Faros Properties and Comcast to establish the burgeoning Nova Place development as a hub for inclusive innovation.
Generett serves on several boards as well as state and national advisory committees, including The Eden Hall Foundation, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Carnegie Museums, Center of Life, Shady Side Academy, the Business Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Pittsburgh Chapter, Innovation Works and Neighborhood Allies. In 2018, he was appointed by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to serve as a member of the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. In 2014, he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to serve as a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He previously served as a member of The Pittsburgh Foundation’s board of directors from 2019 to 2026.
A Pittsburgh native, Generett earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and is a Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College. For several years he practiced real estate and corporate law with an Atlanta law firm before relocating back to Pittsburgh to operate a health care startup prior to taking a role at the Hill House Economic Development Corporation. He is married to Gretchen Generett, Ph.D., and they are the proud parents of William III and Gabrielle.