Baton Rouge, La. – The LSU Foundation Board of Directors has named Krista Raney to the role of president and CEO of the LSU Foundation effective July 1, 2026. Raney will succeed Robert M. Stuart Jr., who has served in the role since January 1, 2020.

 “Great teams are built on talent, preparation and opportunity, and donors’ gifts are direct investments in great teams,” said LSU Interim President Matt Lee. “Krista Raney has a proven record of achieving historic fundraising outcomes for LSU. I have worked in partnership with her over the past 15 years to secure philanthropic funding for visionary ideas at LSU. I look forward to continued momentum with the LSU Foundation under Krista’s leadership.”

Over the course of the next year, the LSU Foundation Board of Directors, Stuart and Raney will work closely together to ensure a seamless leadership transition for the LSU Foundation and continuity for LSU Real Estate & Facilities Foundation projects. Beginning July 1, 2026, Stuart will continue his role as president and CEO of LSU REFF in a part-time capacity.

At the time Stuart was named president and CEO of the LSU Foundation, he was immediate past chairperson of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors, was chairperson of LSU REFF, and had served as the first chairperson of the LSU Foundation National Board. During his tenure as president and CEO, among other accomplishments, the LSU Foundation has surpassed the $1.5 billion Fierce for the Future Campaign goal three years early (in 2022), secured multiple historic gifts in support of academics, and met the fundraising goal for the Our Lady of the Lake Health Interdisciplinary Science Building, currently under construction.

Raney currently serves as executive vice president of development for the LSU Foundation. Prior to being named to this role, she served as senior vice president for development and as leader of a cohort of fundraising professionals on campus. Raney joined the LSU Foundation team in July 2010. Throughout her 15-year tenure, she has consistently earned roles of progressive scope and responsibility; cultivated relationships with many of LSU’s most generous donors; and secured several of the university’s largest gifts ever received in support of scholarships, research, capital projects and endowed funds. As of June 10, the LSU Foundation hit a new record for cash given to the LSU Foundation in a fiscal year, eclipsing the record achieved in fiscal year 2022 with three weeks remaining in fiscal year 2025.

“Over the past 15 years, Krista has been a highly effective, dedicated fundraiser and advocate for LSU,” said Beau Fournet, chair of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors. “As her role has grown, she has provided exemplary leadership of our academic fundraising team, elevating our efforts in every regard and developing a high-performance culture focused on delivering results for LSU. She is the ideal choice to lead the next impactful chapter of the LSU Foundation.”

Stuart said, “I’ve had the opportunity to work with Krista during the span of her career with the LSU Foundation, first during my service on the LSU Foundation Board of Directors and then as president and CEO. She epitomizes the qualities needed for this role and is an outstanding fundraising professional who inspires and motivates both our team and our global network of LSU donors.”

In Raney’s role as executive vice president of development, she is responsible for driving the comprehensive academic fundraising strategy for LSU. This has included providing campus leadership for multiple mega gifts, including a $245 million healthcare partnership, and system-wide leadership for the $1.5 billion Fierce for the Future Campaign. Within the LSU Foundation, Raney spearheaded the restructure of the development enterprise to effectively drive resources for refocused fundraising priorities and built the first cohort fundraising model at LSU. She will be the first woman to serve as president and CEO of the LSU Foundation.

“I look forward to the opportunity to lead the LSU Foundation team in alignment with LSU’s academic priorities and to continue delivering elite results for my alma mater,” Raney said. “Twenty years ago, a scholarship made it possible for me to attend LSU. I remain deeply grateful for that support, which had a transformative impact on my life. It is my honor to carry that impact forward in concert with LSU’s most supportive donors and friends and our stellar team at the LSU Foundation.”

The selection of Raney as the next LSU Foundation president and CEO is the culmination of a six-month succession planning exercise by the LSU Foundation Board of Directors. In November 2024, Stuart shared with the Board his intention to retire effective June 30, 2026 –aligning closely with his 70th birthday and the end of the LSU Foundation’s fiscal year – and his recommendation of Raney as his successor. The Board engaged in a deliberate exploratory process to assess the future leadership needs of the LSU Foundation, researched similar positions at peer institutions, developed a job description for the role, and collaboratively vetted Raney as an ideal choice. The Board voted on May 9, 2025, to approve Raney as incoming president and CEO effective July 1, 2026, coinciding with Stuart’s retirement.

Raney earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from LSU and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive through the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She was honored as one of the top Forty Under 40 in Baton Rouge in 2017, was the Baton Rouge chapter of American Fundraising Professionals’ 2022 Outstanding Professional Fundraiser and was named to the Business Report’s 2023 Influential Women in Business. She currently serves on the boards of the South Louisiana Affiliate of Teach for America and Baton Rouge Area Chamber.

Stuart is the former National Head of Middle Market Corporate Banking at Capital One, for which he led regional and national teams in middle market banking, as well as teams in energy banking, government banking and wealth and asset management. He is an alumnus of LSU, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in finance, and completed the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School. He has served as chair of the board of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Woman’s Hospital and has been a board member for many other organizations, including the Council For A Better Louisiana, Public Affairs Research Council, Blueprint Louisiana, the Tiger Athletic Foundation and The Committee of 100.

The LSU Foundation is a public charity 501(c)3 that cultivates and invests in philanthropic partnerships to advance LSU’s academic priorities, focusing on support for the flagship campus in Baton Rouge. The LSU Real Estate & Facilities Foundation is an affiliate of the LSU Foundation that supports all LSU campuses and the LSU Foundation, focusing on development and management of LSU facilities financed with donated funds or through public-private partnerships.