Kit Lokey

1942 - 2022

O. Kit Lokey, co-founder of global investment bank Houlihan Lokey, passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on February 25. He was 80 years old.

Kit was born on January 12,1942 to Robert Lokey, a onetime manager of the Beverly Hills Hotel in the 1930s, and Nancy Lokey. He grew up in Pacific Palisades where he was an avid surfer and spent many hours at the beach. After graduating from University high school in 1959 he later attended both the UCLA School of Engineering and then its Anderson School of Management. In 2001, he was named one of UCLA Anderson's Top 100 Inspirational Alumni on the school's 75th anniversary. In 1967, he met his wife Carolyn and took a position at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he met Richard Houlihan, with whom he would go on to establish Houlihan Lokey in 1972 at the age of 30. Partnering later with Bob Howard and Jim Zukin, Kit served as the company's President for nearly three decades and continued to help grow Houlihan Lokey as a senior executive and board member until his retirement in 2014. Kit remained a close mentor and friend to many at Houlihan Lokey over the years; and, his vision, wisdom and integrity had a tremendous impact on their growth, success, and corporate culture. In the words of the current Houlihan Lokey leadership team, "We are who we are in great part due to Kit, and we are incredibly grateful and proud to still bear his name as part of our brand."

Kit was a lifelong Los Angeles native. He had a generous spirit and raucous laugh; and friends say that "everything was more fun when Kit was around." His happy place was most definitely the golf course, where he spent countless hours perfecting his swing, playing with friends, and bonding with Carolyn and his Grandson, Leo. Kit actively supported several philanthropic and cultural institutions in Southern California. Most notably, he was a longtime supporter and Board Member of the Center Theater Group and enjoyed sharing his love of live theater with his family and friends. Kit was also an expert card-counter, having paid his way through graduate school playing blackjack in Lake Tahoe; and, in more recent years one of his greatest joys was teaching his grandchildren how to play gin. He loved to travel and visited many corners of the world with Carolyn and Terin. But his two favorite destinations were Hawaii, where he lived briefly and subsequently traveled to almost every summer with first his daughter and then grandchildren; and, Park City, which he and Carolyn had made their second home over the past 20 years.

Kit is survived by Carolyn, his wife of over 50 years, and his daughter Terin who was the pride of his life, as well as her husband Jason and their two children, Leo and Liv. The family held a private celebration of Kit's life.