Martin Sumner, Class of 1992

Born and raised in Oxford, at Oxford Area High School Mr. Sumner played soccer, basketball and tennis, earning 12 varsity letters and numerous team, league and area awards, and was inducted to the high school's Sports Wall of Fame in 2009. He also played trumpet with the concert and marching bands. During his high school summers Mr. Sumner worked in construction for his father’s home building and remodeling company.

Mr. Sumner was named valedictorian of the Class of 1992 and entered the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied finance and strategic management. The summer after his sophomore year he worked as a marketing intern at Herr Foods and after his junior year at The Berwind Group, a regional investment bank in Philadelphia. During his junior and senior years, Mr. Sumner spent significant time assisting his family in winding down his father’s business, as he was diagnosed, and subsequently passed away from cancer.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Penn in 1996, Mr. Sumner moved to Washington, D.C. to join Mercer Management Consulting where he advised senior management of companies on strategic issues, participating in 15 projects across multiple industries during his three year tenure. From Mercer, he spent two years at Thayer Capital Partners, a middle market private equity firm where he was responsible for evaluating and executing investments in high growth companies.

Recognizing his desire to pursue an advanced degree, Mr. Sumner applied and was accepted to the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he earned his Masters of Business Administration. In addition to his studies at Stanford, he was the president of the soccer club and worked closely with Jack MacDonald, a long-time Stanford finance professor. During the spring of his second year, Mr. Sumner secured a full-time position with The Carlyle Group, a leading private equity firm based in Washington D.C.

Since joining The Carlyle Group in 2003, Mr. Sumner has been promoted three times and now is a Managing Director where he focuses on investment opportunities in the industrial and transportation sectors. He has been a key contributor to several of the firm’s investments totaling over $2.25 billion of equity invested including Axalta Coating Systems (formerly DuPont Performance Coatings), Allison Transmission and AxleTech International. 

Mr. Sumner has also been involved in the sales of several Carlyle portfolio companies with an aggregate value of over $5 billion. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Axalta Coating Systems where he chairs the audit and compensation committees as well as Veyance Technologies where he chairs the audit committee.

Mr. Sumner is married to Meredith McMichael Sumner, a 1991 graduate of Oxford High School. They have three children, Grace, 10; Charlotte, 7; and Wes, 3. He enjoys coaching both Grace and Charlotte’s soccer teams and served for two years on the Local Strategic Advisory Team for Key Elementary School in Washington D.C.