Nate Morris
Nathaniel Ryan Morris is an American business magnate. He is the founder of Lexington, Kentucky-based conglomerate Morris Industries, Founder and CEO of the software company Rubicon and Founder of the Morris Foundation.
Life
Morris was born in Lexington, Kentucky and raised in Louisville by his mother with help from his grandfather who was the former President of United Auto Workers Local 862 and his grandmother. He attended Eastern High School, where he played football, was captain of the debate team, was elected president of his senior class, interned for Jefferson County Commissioner Irv Maze, served as a missionary to the Navajo Nation and was a Wilson W. Wyatt Scholar. While at Eastern, Morris was selected to attend Boys State and Boys Nation in Washington, D.C., and met President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. During his trip to Washington, a gunman shot and killed two U.S. Capitol Police officers. Morris also competed in the United States Academic Decathlon and was a member of the National Beta Club and the National Honor Society.at Boys State in 1998.
Morris won an academic scholarship from the Scottish Rite to attend George Washington University. At George Washington, he lived in the Hall On Virginia Avenue and was selected to participate in a year-long program called "America After Watergate." While attending George Washington, Morris worked at the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the Department of Labor and the White House. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Kappa Sigma fraternity.
After graduating from George Washington, Morris worked for the American Red Cross. In 2007, he spent time in China lecturing at the Beijing International Studies University through the Council on International Educational Exchange and working for the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Morris returned to the United States and attended graduate school at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. At Princeton, he studied under former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, former United States Representative Jim Leach, and was named a fellow at the Center for the Study of Presidency.
Ancestry
Morris has English with some Scottish and Irish ancestry along with distant Swedish roots. He is a direct descendant of Saher de Quincy, an author and signer of the Magna Carta. Morris is a member of the Baronial Order of Magna Charta.Morris is a ninth-generation Kentuckian. His ancestors migrated to Kentucky after fighting in the American Revolutionary War and Morris is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. His descendants also include several Civil War Veterans. Morris is a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Camp #5, which is named in honor of Reverend Elijah P. Marrs. Morris's second great grandfather is Jesse P. Morris, who served in the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Democrat in the early 1900s representing parts of Eastern Kentucky.
Morris's family has a tradition of Freemasonry and he is a member of Lexington Lodge #1.
Business
Rubicon
In 2008, Morris and high school friend Marc Spiegel founded Rubicon. Spiegel's family had been in the garbage hauling trade for more than a century; his knowledge piqued Morris's interest in starting a company that could disrupt the waste industry. Morris maxed out personal credit cards and sold items on eBay to fund initial expenses, like a website and basic legal work.Morris is currently CEO of Rubicon. As CEO, Morris has led the company's fundraising efforts. Investors in Rubicon include Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Kravis, Paul Tudor Jones, Brad M. Kelley, Marc Benioff, Fifth Third Bank, Goldman Sachs, Wellington Management and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. In October 2016, Rubicon was named a Next Billion-Dollar Startup by Forbes. In September 2017, Forbes reported that Rubicon's valuation was more than $1 billion.
Rubicon was the subject and Morris was the protagonist of a Harvard Business School case study published in 2015.
Morris Industries
Morris is also the founder and chairman of Lexington, Kentucky-based Morris Industries, a privately held conglomerate.Advocate for benefit corporations
Morris is an advocate for benefit corporations. In 2013, Morris worked with the leadership of companies including Warby Parker and Prudential Financial to pass a law in Delaware recognizing public benefit corporations. In 2014, Morris spoke in support of benefit corporations at a conference sponsored by the Harvard Business Law Review.In 2017, Morris advocated for the passage of Kentucky House Bill 35, which allowed for the creation of public benefit corporations in the Commonwealth. The bill passed the Kentucky General Assembly and was signed by Gov. Matt Bevin.
Gatton College
In 2016, Morris was named the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics. He is also a member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the Gatton College.Media coverage
Morris and Rubicon were profiled in the January 2017 issue of Forbes magazine. Morris has been featured in media outlets including Vanity Fair, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and National Journal.Awards and Memberships
- In 2007, Morris was named an Outstanding Young Kentuckian by the Kentucky Junior Chamber of Commerce.
- Morris received the U.S. Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Americans award in 2013.
- Morris was named to Fortune's 40 Under 40 list in 2014. Also in 2014, Morris was recognized by the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame as an Emerging Entrepreneur and was named to the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders class.
- In 2015, Morris was named Outstanding Business Person of the Year by the Gatton College at UK. The award was presented by Beta Gamma Sigma.
- Morris was named one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2016 by Goldman Sachs at its annual Builders + Innovators Summit. Also in 2016, Morris was named to Waste360's first annual 40 Under 40 award list.
- In 2018, Morris was named a Most Admired CEO honoree by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
- In November 2019, Morris was inducted into the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. He is the youngest person to ever receive the honor.
Politics
Morris was raised in a family of Reagan Democrats and was close to his grandfather, who was a United Automobile Workers leader in Louisville.Morris's views, however, lean more to the right. He is a Republican and has been described as a "wunderkind" political fundraiser by The New York Times. Morris raised money for President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign and was recognized as a Maverick.
Morris has helped to elect Kentucky Republicans including Sen. Mitch McConnell, Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Rep. Anne Northup. He is a friend and supporter of Sen. Rand Paul. Morris traveled with Paul to Israel in 2013 and raised money for his Senate and presidential campaigns. Paul wrote about Morris and Rubicon in his book, Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America.
In 2014, Morris received the Leadership Institute's Conservative Leader Award and Maverick PAC Future 40 Award.
Philanthropy
Morris is a signatory of the Founders Pledge.He and his wife Jane created the Morris Foundation, which is based in Kentucky and invests in causes that provide opportunities for self-advancement. Programs funded by the foundation include the , which provides college scholarships in Kentucky to children of UAW Local 862 members or retirees.
Recent gifts given by the foundation include the Gatton United Building Campaign.
In 2019, the Foundation created the at the Gatton College. The fellowship expanded the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress Fellows Program to include a participant from the University of Kentucky.