Two prominent New York businessmen, civic leaders and Columbia University alumni, Jerry I. Speyer and Lionel I. Pincus, have each been elected to serve as chairman of the Trustees of Columbia University for one of the next two years, with the understanding that they will share many of the responsibilities of the post during each other's terms, it was announced today by Columbia President George Rupp.

The University said Mr. Speyer, a prominent New York-based real estate developer, has taken up the chairmanship effective immediately. He will be succeeded by Mr. Pincus, a leading venture capitalist, in September of 1996.

"Jerry Speyer and Lionel Pincus are extraordinary alumni whose many talents have served this University well, and they exemplify the kind of leadership that we have come to expect from our chairs in a tradition that dates back 241 years," said Dr. Rupp. "Columbia is fortunate to have two such distinguished sons commit themselves to combining their talents in a creative way that will allow them to make a sustained contribution to the role of chairman, ensuring that they will be able to devote the highest levels of continuity, enthusiasm, energy and time to the post."

Mr. Speyer and Mr. Pincus, who, respectively, will be the 26th and 27th chairs of the Columbia Trustees, are both long-term trustees of the University.

Mr. Speyer, 55, is president and chief executive officer of Tishman Speyer Properties, the global real estate development company established in 1978. Mr. Pincus, 64, is chairman and chief executive of E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co., a financial services organization whose principal businesses include venture banking and investment counseling.

The pair have been very active with the New York City Partnership, a well-known business group in whose founding they played a major role and whose innovative approach to public-private sector cooperation has become a nationally recognized model of effective public policy. Mr. Speyer served as chairman of the Partnership during the past two years.

"Now more than ever, Columbia represents an incredibly valuable resource located in the most important city in the world," said Mr. Speyer. "Lionel and I welcome these appointments not only as a way to give something back to our alma mater, but also to nurture an institution that is at the heart of New York's intellectual and social well-being and that has consistently made major academic contributions that have immensely benefited the nation and the world."

Mr. Speyer graduated from Columbia College in 1962 and received his master's degree in business administration from Columbia Business School in 1964. Mr. Pincus received his Columbia degree, an MBA, in 1956, after attending Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.

"I am very excited about sharing the responsibilities of this post with Jerry for the next 24 months and am looking forward to working with President Rupp and the other trustees to take maximum advantage of the extraordinary opportunities that Columbia will face as we enter the 21st century," said Mr. Pincus.

Mr. Speyer's firm, Tishman Speyer Properties, has developed or acquired property worth $5 billion and manages 15 million square feet of commercial space. It is particularly prominent in Manhattan, where its portfolio includes the Credit Lyonnais Building and 520 Madison Avenue. Outside New York, the company's holdings include a number of major commercial properties in Chicago, Miami and other cities. Under Mr. Speyer's leadership, the firm recently has been exporting its expertise abroad, developing Europe's tallest skyscraper, the Messeturm, in Frankfurt, and the Friedrichstadt Passagen in Berlin. Current projects include two more in Berlin--Sony's headquarters building and the city's new main train station.

Mr. Pincus has been chief executive of E.M. Warburg, Pincus and its predecessor firm since 1966. He was named chairman in 1970. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Pincus has played a major part in the growth and development of the venture capital industry, helping define both the institutional role and the professional standards of venture banking.

As active advocate on behalf of New York City, Mr. Speyer has headed many community, business and cultural organizations. He is chairman emeritus of the Real Estate Board of New York. An avid collector and supporter of the arts, he is a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, Mayor Giuliani's representative on the board of the Museum of the City of New York and a trustee of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the board of advisors of the Jewish Guild for the Blind and regent of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. He is a director of the National Realty Committee, the German-American Chamber of Commerce and the Fifth Avenue Association and is a commissioner of the New York City Commission on the Redevelopment of the Naval Station of New York. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an honorary member and past president of the board of trustees of the Dalton School.

Mr. Pincus has served on the board of directors of numerous private and public corporations and is currently a trustee or director of several civic, educational and philanthropic institutions, including the Citizens Budget Commission, the Ittleson Foundation, Montefiore Medical Center and the School of American Ballet. Mr. Pincus is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Park Foundation Board. He was a founding director of the National Venture Capital Association in 1973 and served as a trustee of the German Marshall Fund of the United States from 1982 to 1988.

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