Joshua Easterly, 1998

2022 Outstanding Alumnus Award
Craig School of Business

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Joshua Easterly, co-founder and Co-President of a $62bln global asset management firm, came to Fresno State from humble beginnings. He was one of five children in his family, coached basketball at his high school and worked full-time in order to go to college. After transferring from Fresno City College, he graduated from Fresno State’s Craig School of Business with a degree in business administration in 1998.

Easterly said, “I think Fresno State is an amazing institution, but I think it's the beginning of the journey…it's not the end. And being a lifelong learner, being intellectually curious is one of the biggest gifts I’ve ever had.”

Soon after graduating, Easterly got a job with Wells Fargo, which gave him the opportunity to move to Los Angeles, then Dallas, before he settled in New York in 2004.

Easterly worked his way up in the company, becoming senior vice president, Northeast regional originations manager before leaving to join Goldman Sachs in 2006.

Throughout his tenure with Goldman Sachs, Easterly served as director, management committee member and co-head of the Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group. He was also managing director in the company’s Americas Special Situations Group, which invested capital in both public markets and private transactions in distressed and special situations.

In March 2011, Easterly co-founded Sixth Street, a leading alternative asset management firm with offices globally including San Francisco, New York, and London. The company manages more than $62 billion worth of assets. Easterly is currently partner and co-president of the company, and CEO of Sixth Street Specialty Lending.

“We get to think about how businesses work and what business models work and how companies work.”

“People think of us as an investment business. Investing is a big piece of our business, but we’re a people business at the end of the day. A big part of our business [is how to] attract and retain, train and develop people.”

As someone who is keen to connecting with and supporting others, Easterly is passionate about helping students facing financial hardships. He serves on the board of trustees at Harlem Academy in New York, which “exists to reverse the downward trajectory that often defines the opportunities available to low-income children.”

“The biggest change of any individual's life, or the biggest kind of boost, is through education. It's more of an equity concept for me, which is being able to provide resources for people to get access to something that gives them the ability to change not only their lives but generations in life. t’s a very powerful idea.”

Easterly has also established multiple scholarship opportunities for Fresno State students. He offers Easterly Scholarships to students in the Business Scholars Program, which provides multi-year scholarships to business students based on academic performance, leadership and service. He has also established the Frank Easterly Scholarship, offered through the Kremen School of Education and Human Development, for students studying to become teachers.

“Fresno State is a unique place, where if it can create and develop a whole bunch of great next-generation educators, and those educators impact children across the Central Valley — you get this multiplier effect that is [so] important.”