Joseph Willit

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Joseph Willett is an American investment banker who served as the chief financial officer (CFO) of investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. from 1993 to 1998. [1] [2] [3] He would go on to serve as the chief operating officer (COO) Merrill Lynch's European operations from 1998 to 2002, succeeded by Andrea Orcel. [4] [5]

Contents

Early life and education

He attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine graduating in 1973 with degrees in economics and mathematics, cum laude and in Phi Beta Kappa. [4] He went on to attend the University of Rochester for his M.B.A. in 1975. [4] [5]

Career

Willit worked at Chase Manhattan Bank–a firm later absorbed to create JP Morgan Chase–during the 1970s, eventually rising to become a Vice President at the firm. [4] While at Chase, he worked primarily in their financial policy division. [6] [4] He first joined Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1992, working in their New York City offices as director of financial planning. [4] He was appointed the chief financial officer (CFO) of the firm from 1993 to 1998 after which he was asked to serve as the chief operating officer (COO) Merrill Lynch's European operations. [1] [5] [3] [2] [7]

Personal life

Willett lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey with his wife, Janice and three children. [4] On January 18, 2012, he donated $3.5 million to the University of Rochester to fund scholarships and faculty positions. [8]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 News, Bloomberg (February 6, 1998). "Merrill Lynch Names Financial Officer". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2018.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. 1 2 McGeehan, Patrick (January 28, 1997). "Merrill Lynch Posts 47% Gain, Capping Wall Street's Best Year". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Winthrop H. Jr. (May 20, 2014). Catching Lightning in a Bottle: How Merrill Lynch Revolutionized the Financial World. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   9781118967614.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Willett '73 named chair of the Bates board". Bates Magazine. July 27, 2006. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Truell, Peter (July 22, 1995). "Merrill Lynch Buying Big British Securities Firm". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  6. "Joseph Willett". Analysis Group. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  7. Partington, Richard (March 22, 2012). "Meet Andrea Orcel: The consummate dealmaker". Financial News London. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  8. Koko, Charla (January 18, 2012). "Simon School alumni give $4.5 million". www.rochester.edu. Retrieved November 15, 2018.