Alan Lewis

Born in the Dorchester section of Boston, Alan Lewis overcame a difficult childhood and family life to become a successful businessman and a leading social entrepreneur. Whether through his business or philanthropic work, his mission has always been the same: to do all that he can to help change people’s lives.

Today, Alan is chairman and owner of $700 million Grand Circle Corporation, the largest U.S. direct marketer of international vacations for Americans aged 50 and older with more than 2,500 employees in more than 30 offices worldwide. Grand Circle owns or charters 60 ships. He also is co-founder of Grand Circle Foundation and Pinnacle Leadership and Team Development, organizations he established in 1992 to create positive social change worldwide through financial support and leadership development, including that of social entrepreneurial leaders. 

Since the creation of Grand Circle Foundation with his wife Harriet, Alan has donated or pledged more than $47 million USD to cultural and educational organizations worldwide, including more than 80 rural and urban schools and villages today. Committed to hands-on philanthropy and volunteerism, Alan and Harriet founded a community service program for Grand Circle associates through which more than 90% of them give back to their community each year. Through Pinnacle, Alan has supported the growth and development of more than 1,000 mid-to-upper level leaders and CEOs working at for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations through a series of outdoor and experiential trainings and programs at Pinnacle’s 400-acre property in Kensington, New Hampshire.

Alan has received more than a dozen awards and wide recognition for his entrepreneurialism and unique approach to philanthropy, including the late Paul Newsman’s Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy’s CEO Leadership Award, Ernst & Young’s New England Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the government of Tanzania’s Humanitarian Award.