Andrew Rudd's Obituary
Andrew T. Rudd, husband to Jinny, Dad to Chris, Alexi, Nick, and Natalie, and Grandpa to Jagger, Spencer, and Cooper, passed away on April 2, in Berkeley, California.
Andrew, born on February 23, 1950, was the second son of Joyce and Walton, brother to Peter, and half-brother to Allan and John.
In his earlier years, Andrew pursued his academics and life with zeal. An avid sailor, he learned to sail with his father and brother, raced whilst in high school and later on the sailing teams at Sussex University and Cal Berkeley.
Andrew pursued his academics with the same intensity. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Sussex in England before venturing west to Berkeley, California, where he earned an MSc in Operations Research, his MBA from Haas, and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations, all from UC Berkeley. A proud Cal Bear, Andrew remained closely connected to the University throughout his post-grad years. He was a UC Berkeley Foundation Trustee, a Builder of Berkeley and sat on the Board of the Blum Center.
After Berkeley, he was a Professor of Finance & Operations Research at Cornell University and became a leading authority on ‘Modern Portfolio Theory’. In 1975, Andrew co-founded Barra Inc., a financial software company headquartered in Berkeley with offices located around the world. Under his leadership, the company developed risk-management and investment tools. Barra was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2004.
Andrew’s desire to enhance the financial ecosystem persisted after Barra’s sale. Andrew launched Advisor Software, which developed wealth management products for investors, and acquired and ran Advisor Partners, an investment advisor with sophisticated quantitative products. He and the businesses he led left an indelible mark on Wall Street to this day.
In addition to his professional endeavors, he and his wife, Jinny, sought to provide others with the type of opportunities that he was granted in his youth - particularly with access to education and the benefits of travel. He and Jinny are proud to have supported charitable endeavors throughout the world, partnering with educational institutions such as UC Berkeley, Cornell University, UMass Amherst, and Sussex University being dearest to them.
Andrew is remembered by many for his optimistic outlook on life, sharp wit, and sense of humor. As young parents, Andrew and Jinny gave much of their time to driving their children to sports events and providing support from the sidelines. He was an extensive traveler with many tales to tell, hiked mountains across various continents with his son, Chris, and daughter, Natalie, authored two books, had an amateur sailing career, was a patient math tutor to his kids, and loved games of skill. He loved his later-in-life pursuit of creating his own wine from grapes he grew. While he never did get to write his trashy beach novel, he never let the dream die. He lived what felt like many lives in his 74 years.
More than anything Andrew loved his wife and kids, all of whom miss him dearly. He is survived by his wife, Jinny, son Chris, daughter Alexi, son Nick and daughter-in-law Emilianne and their three children Jagger, Spencer, and Cooper, and daughter Natalie. He was incredibly proud of all of his kids and endlessly supportive of who they are and the impact they are having on their communities. Andrew also leaves his brother, Peter, and sister-in-law, Kate, and their family.
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