Giving with Purpose

When Bruce Kahne first wandered into the Fuqua School of Business, it wasn’t planned—it was curiosity. While visiting his son, then a freshman at Duke, Bruce was staying at the JB Duke Hotel when he noticed a quiet passageway leading out from the dining area. “It was in the fall and the leaves were out,” he recalled. “I thought, this is a nice little walkway. I wonder where it goes. So, I followed it, and I wound up in Fuqua.”

That chance detour turned into something much more meaningful.

As students gathered nearby, Bruce struck up conversations. “We had conversations about what their goals were and how they liked the school,” he said. “Somebody wanted to work on Wall Street, somebody wanted to go into private funds, someone wanted to work in investment banking, and someone was undecided.” They also asked about Bruce’s own career—one that didn’t follow a traditional path.

Bruce began as a litigator after law school, but his passion was always the financial markets. Seven years in, he decided to make a bold shift. “I walked into a law firm and said, I know you specialize in hedge funds. While I don’t have experience in that area, I’m willing to work as hard as I need to- to learn”, he said. Despite his seniority, he was brought in as a fourth-year associate. “I then focused on putting in the time and effort to learn everything I could about the business, not just the legal side.”

That leap paid off. Today, Bruce is the Global General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at EnTrust Global, where he has spent the past 18 years as the firm has had tremendous growth. “When I started, I was the only legal and compliance person,” he said. “Now we have a team of 8. We’ve grown from 30 to 140 employees, from 2 offices to 11, and from roughly $2 billion to about $16 billion in total assets. The firm has evolved from a fund of funds to an investment platform offering a range of investment opportunities across major asset classes in both public and private markets."

Throughout his career, Bruce has worked closely with MBAs, and he values the training and perspective they bring. “The skill sets that MBAs bring are general business knowledge and business savvy that you get from working in the industry,” he noted. “The ability to analyze investments and understand acceptable risks versus operational risks—that’s really the value.”

But Bruce also believes in qualities that go beyond specific degrees. “What I’ve learned is you don’t necessarily want to hire the person who has the spot-on experience for the job. It’s also about maintaining culture. The person who may be better is somebody who’s very smart, will work hard, and fits in. That’s half the battle.”

Though Bruce isn’t a Duke alum himself, the university has become central to his life. His son, now a senior studying political theory, and his daughter, a sophomore pursuing neuroscience, both found a home at Duke—and so did Bruce and his wife. “It is just such a transformative experience for my kids,” he said. “My son is a different kid from when he started to now. I’ve been so impressed with everything about the school.”

That growing admiration led Bruce to become a generous supporter of Fuqua. “It all stemmed from that one day where I inadvertently wandered in there and started talking to students,” he said. “They were all very committed, smart, and inquisitive. They asked good questions about my career, about my path. And it was unusual for me, a New Yorker, to walk into a situation and have strangers be friendly and ask you questions.” He adds with a smile, “That’s the New Yorker in me—I thought maybe they wanted something from me. But they were just nice.”

Since 2023, Bruce has been giving generously to the Fuqua Annual Fund—a reflection of both his deep appreciation for the school and his belief in its mission. “Matching that desire to give and support the school with my Fuqua experience, I thought it was a logical thing to do.”

His philanthropy is thoughtful and intentional. In addition to supporting cancer-related causes, having lost both of his parents to cancer, Bruce considers his giving to Fuqua a personal investment in the future of principled business leadership. “I’d like to consistently give at my current level, certainly for the foreseeable future.”

Even after his children graduate, Bruce hopes to remain closely connected to Duke and Fuqua. “I just think it’s a magical place.” What began as a simple walk through campus turned into something lasting. For Bruce, Fuqua is no longer just a building he stumbled into—it’s a place he believes in, invests in, and proudly supports.