Alan Schwartz

Alan D. Schwartz is an executive chairman of Guggenheim Partners, LLC, an investment banking firm based in Chicago and New York. He was the last CEO of Bear Stearns before its acquisition by JPMorgan Chase & Co., having succeeded James (Jimmy) E. Cayne who remained chairman.

History at Bear Stearns

Alan Schwartz joined Bear Stearns in 1976. He became executive vice president and head of the Investment Banking Division in 1985.

He became Co-President and Co-COO on June 25, 2001. Schwartz became sole President and COO in August 2007 after Warren Spector was forced to resign in the wake of the collapse of two hedge funds. Prior to this time, Spector was considered the heir-apparent to Cayne. Schwartz took over as CEO on January 8, 2008 when the stock (BSC) traded at slightly over $75 per share. Within a week of its merger with JPMorgan Chase on March 16, 2008, BSC stock drastically declined to $5.33 per share.

Schwartz negotiated the last minute deal to sell to JPMorgan Chase, and he was angrily confronted by senior trader Alan Mintz for this at the company gym.

Background

Schwartz is a 1972 graduate of Duke University. At Duke, he pitched on the varsity baseball team as a scholarship athlete, making the ACC academic honor roll three times. Though he was drafted by the MLB's Cincinnati Reds, he never played a game due to an injured elbow. He is currently the chairman of the Board of Visitors at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke and is a trustee on the Duke University Board of Trustees.

Schwartz currently resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife, Nancy Seaman, Chairman of Houlihan Lawrence Realty Corporation.

External links

• New York Magazine
• Forbes magazine article
• Portfolio.com
• Lustgarten Foundation site
• Bizjournals site

See also

• Bear Stearns