C. Kevin Landry, senior adviser at Boston private equity firm TA Associates, passed away on Aug. 1 from complications of lung cancer. He was 69.

Landry, described as gregarious, with a plainspoken manner and tireless work ethic, joined TA at 24, in 1968. He rose to become a general partner in 1972, managing partner in 1982, CEO in 1984 and chairman in 2007. He retired as chairman in 2012, and became a senior adviser to the firm.

He is credited with adding to TA’s development, moving the firm from an early-stage venture capital investor to a private equity firm focused on minority recapitalizations and majority buyouts.

“As an investor and a leader, Kevin demonstrated remarkable judgment and foresight,” said Brian Conway, a managing director.

Landry served on the boards of Ameritrade Holding Corp. Biogen, Continental Cablevision, Instinet Group, Keystone Group, MetroPCS Communications, SBA Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SBAC) and Standex International Corp.

As part of TA, he worked on investments in Affiliated Managers Group, Aim Management Group (now Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ)), Ansys Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSS), Asurion Corp., BMC Software Inc. (Nasdaq: BMC), Invitrogen Corp., McAfee Inc., Network Appliance and Tempur-Pedic International, now part of Tempur Sealy International Inc. (NYSE: TPX).

Landry was also elected to the Private Equity Hall of Fame in 1997.

He also focused on the Boston community - serving on the board of the Museum of Fine Arts from 1998 to 2010, and as honorary trustee from 2010 to 2013, and as a trustee at the Middlesex School for 34 years.

Landry and his wife, Barrie, donated to Harvard University, Middlesex School, the Westover School, Massachusetts General Hospital, the Museum of Fine Arts, UNICEF and the Maranyundo Initiative.

Harvard was the focus of many of Landry’s charitable efforts, as he graduated from there in 1966. Landry joked that though his major was economics, his real major was poker.

TA recently gave $10 million to Harvard University to endow the Landry Cancer Biology Consortium and the Landry Cancer Research fellowships. The money will fund research on cancer biology and treatments, including lung cancer studies.

Landry, whose first initial stands for Christopher, was born on April 18, 1944 in Boston. He grew up in Arlington, Mass.  He is survived by his wife, Barrie, Christopher Landry, Kimberly GwinnLandry and her husband, Mark, Jennifer Landry Le and her husband, Khoa, and nine grandchildren.

TA has invested in more than 430 companies and has raised about $18 billion in capital. The firm has offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Calif., London, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

A memorial service for family and friends will be held at Memorial Church at Harvard University on Aug. 15, 2013 at 11 a.m. 

Career moves