Larry Grafstein

Last updated
Larry Grafstein
Born
Laurence Stephen Grafstein
Education Harvard University (B.A.) 1982

University of Oxford (M.Phil) 1984

University of Toronto (Juris Doctor) 1988
Occupation(s)M&A advisor, banker
Known for RBC Capital Markets (Deputy chairman)
SpouseRebecca Weatherhead (married 1989–present)
Relatives Jerry Grafstein (father)

Larry Grafstein (born Laurence S. Grafstein [1] ) is an American investment banker and Mergers and Acquisitions advisor, currently the Deputy Chairman of the Global Investment Bank at RBC Capital Markets. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Larry Grafstein is the son of former Canadian senator Jerry Grafstein and Carole Grafstein, a member of the Order of Canada. [3] [6] He graduated from Harvard University with Bachelor of Arts in 1982 where he was Executive Editor of The Harvard Crimson. [7] [8]

He received his M.Phil degree from University of Oxford at Balliol, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and president of the Oxford Union. [9] [10] He received his Juris Doctor from University of Torronto Faculty of Law in 1988. [11] [3]

Career

Grafstein began his Wall Street career at Wasserstein Perella & Co. in 1990. [12] In 2001, he became the Managing Director and Co-head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications at the investment bank, Lazard Ltd. [13] [14] [15] In March 2009, Grafstein helped lead the group that bought The New Republic magazine, together with its longtime editor Martin Peretz, from CanWest Communications. [16] [17] He also chaired The New Republic’s Advisory Board until its subsequent sale to Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes in 2012. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

Later in 2009, Grafstein joined Rothschild & Co. in New York as a Managing Director and Co-head of M&A. [23] [24] [25] In September 2012, he left Rothschild & Co and joined Swiss financial services company, UBS Group AG as Co-head of M&A in the Americas. [26] [27] [28] He worked at UBS as the co-head of M&A in the Americas. [29] [30] [31] Since September 2018, Grafstein has served as the Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of the Global Investment Bank at RBC Capital Markets. [32] [33]

Larry Grafstein is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Horace Mann School, [7] a member of the executive committee of the Wall Street division of UJA-Federation of New York [34] and a member of the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Foundation of Upper Canada College, his high school alma mater. [35]

Personal life

Grafstein has been married to Rebecca Weatherhead since 1989. [36] [37]

References

  1. Basar, Shanny (2010-10-18). "Investment banker of the Week: Laurence Grafstein - UBS's $600bn man". Financial News . Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  2. "DealBook Briefing: Inside McKinsey's Biggest Crisis". The New York Times. 2018-06-27. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  3. 1 2 3 Posadzki, Alexandra (2018-06-25). "RBC snags UBS banker Larry Grafstein as deputy chairman". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  4. "RBC's Grafstein Sees Market Caution Amid Fed Uncertainty". Bloomberg. March 9, 2023. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  5. Morrell, Alex. "RBC's deputy chairman of investment banking explains why M&A has returned with a vengeance after going dormant last quarter". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  6. "Mrs. Carole Sandra Grafstein". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  7. 1 2 Sweet, Vivien. "Larry Grafstein becomes the new Chairman of Board of Trustees". The Record. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  8. "Fewer Win U.S. Rhodes Scholarships | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. January 6, 1982. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  9. Barbara, Amiel (1985-01-05). "Larry Grafstein leaves Oxford's debating club , but we'll hear from him again". The Kingston Whig-Standard . p. 5. Retrieved 2025-11-12 via Newspapers.com.
  10. Purnell, Sonia (2011-09-22). Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition - A Biography of Boris Johnson. Aurum. ISBN   978-1-84513-741-0.
  11. "Grafstein Lecture in Communications 2023 | University of Toronto Faculty of Law". www.law.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  12. "M&A … and Bruce". The New Republic. 2009-10-15. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  13. Sidel, Robin (2001-07-18). "Grafstein Joins Lazard In Coup for the Bank". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  14. "Two Bankers Put the Blame on Wall Street". The New York Times. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  15. "UBS holt sich neuen M&A-Chef für Amerika". finews.ch (in German). 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  16. "Canwest sells magazine to meet debt payments". CTV News . 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  17. Koblin, John (2009-03-06). "Marty Peretz, Larry Grafstein in Discussions to Buy The New Republic". The New York Observer . Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  18. Lizza, Ryan (2014-12-12). "Inside the Collapse of The New Republic". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  19. Farhi, Paul (2023-05-19). "Chris Hughes, Facebook co-founder, takes over New Republic magazine". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  20. Peretz, Martin (2023-07-11). The Controversialist: Arguments with Everyone, Left Right and Center. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-63758-228-2.
  21. Waldman, Paul (2009-03-06). "The Future of The New Republic". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  22. Legg, Heidi (2020-03-25). "Preserving America's Thought Leader Magazines". Shorenstein Center. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  23. "Grafstein to take top Rothschild US M&A job -WSJ". Reuters. 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  24. O’Donnell, Carl (2018-06-22). "MOVES-RBC hires veteran banker Grafstein from UBS for senior role -sources". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  25. Nast, Condé (2010-03-29). "Bruce Wasserstein's Last Surprise". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  26. Brumpton, Harry (2018-06-05). "UBS hires Solon Kentas to lead U.S. consumer and retail M&A". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  27. "New York Boutiques Take Center Stage on AT&T-Discovery Megadeal". Bloomberg.com. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  28. Merced, Michael J. de la (2012-08-21). "UBS Hires Grafstein as Co-Head of M.&A. in the Americas". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  29. "U.S. tax curbs on debt deduction to sting buyout barons". Reuters. 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  30. Nahl, Lexi (2016-08-16). "UBS's Grafstein Says M&A Being Spurred by Slow Economic Growth". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  31. "Global M&A volume down, but big US deals driving activity: Grafstein". CNBC. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  32. Morrell, Alex. "2018 has been one of the wildest years in M&A since the financial crisis — here are the 40 biggest investment-banker moves". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  33. Rosenbaum, Joshua; Pearl, Joshua (2020-03-20). Investment Banking: Valuation, LBOs, M&A, and IPOs. John Wiley & Sons. p. 23. ISBN   978-1-119-70658-8.
  34. "Wall Street Dinner Dais". UJA-Federation of New York. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  35. "Philanthropic Leadership | Upper Canada College". www.ucc.on.ca. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  36. Rabines, Amanda (2017-06-02). "Oceana Bal Harbour | Eduardo Costantini | Bal Harbour unit". The Real Deal. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  37. "Below, getting ready to make their first entrance as a newly married couple are Rebecca Grafstein in a wedding grown of white silk and lace by Milli of Hamilton, and Laurence Grafstein". Digital Archive. 1989-08-08. Retrieved 2025-11-12.