Longtime board member Ron Burkle brings his decades of experience in business and philanthropy to his new role with the La Jolla-based Scripps Research.

La Jolla biomedical institute Scripps Research has named longtime board member Ron Burkle its new board chair.

Burkle, founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, has served on the Scripps board since 2017 and succeeds John Diekman, PhD, who served two terms as board chair.

“Ron has been a trusted advisor of Scripps Research for nearly a decade, and he brings a wealth of experience in organizational leadership, strategic investment and philanthropy,” Pete Schultz, president and chief executive of Scripps Research, said in a press release.

Burkle will help further Scripps Research’s commitment to transforming scientific discoveries into innovative medicines, Schultz added.

Burkle founded The Yucaipa Companies in 1986, a three-time Stanley Cup Champion as co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins and has served as chairman of numerous companies, including Americold, Soho House, 101 Studios, Ralphs, Fred Meyer and Golden State Foods.

Burkle is also founder and chairman of the Ronald W Burkle Foundation and has a longstanding commitment to philanthropy and nonprofit leadership, co-chairing the Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA, having held other trustee positions at The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Carter Center and the National Urban League.

“I’ve had the opportunity to see firsthand how Scripps Research is bringing together fundamental science and translational research to address major challenges in human health,” Burkle said. “I look forward to working with Pete, the board and the institute’s scientists to build on that progress and support the next generation of discoveries, medicines and scientists.”