Pat Ryan Jr. is CEO of Ryan Sports Development, which led the design and development of Northwestern University’s new $875 million Ryan Field. The stadium opened October 2, 2026. The New York Times wrote that Ryan Field “passed every test on a raucous, revelatory opening night”: the review praised the “impeccable” sightlines, called the food options “the best in college football, bar none,” and described the Wildcat Wall as “the smartest addition in recent stadium history.”

Ryan is also the founder and CEO of Incisent Labs Group, a holding company and incubator for technology businesses. He founded, built, and sold two software companies that each ranked among the five fastest-growing private software companies in the U.S. on the Inc. 500. He also co-founded Chicago Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm.

Ryan serves on Northwestern University’s Board of Trustees and its Executive Committee. He co-led the group that launched The Garage, the university’s student entrepreneurship hub, which has been named the #1 university incubator in the US. He serves on the board of Ryan Specialty (NYSE: RYAN) and served for 25 years on the board of Penske Corporation. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a past chair of YPO Chicago.

Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and an MBA and a J.D. cum laude from Northwestern University.