William G. Spears

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William G. Spears
Born1938
Website http://spearsabacus.com/

William G. Spears (born 1938) is an American asset manager, philanthropist and board member. Spears is currently chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Spears Abacus Advisors LLC, an investment management firm located in New York City.

Contents

Early life and education

Spears graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1956. [1] He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1960 and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1962. [2] [3]

Business

Spears began his career at Loeb, Rhoades & Company in 1962 and was named a general partner in 1970. [4] In 1972, Spears founded an independent investment advisory business, which became Spears, Benzak, Salomon & Farrell. [5] The firm was acquired by KeyCorp in 1994; Spears served as chairman and chief executive officer of KeyCorp Asset Management from 1996 to 1999. [6] [7] At the time, KeyCorp Asset Management managed $72 billion in total assets. In 1999, he co-founded Spears, Grisanti & Brown.

In 2007, Spears co-founded Spears Abacus Advisors LLC in partnership with Abacus & Associates. He serves as the firm's chairman and chief executive officer. [8]

Boards

Spears’ past corporate board affiliations include UnitedHealth Group, Recognition International Inc., Avatar Holdings Inc. and Osborn Communications Corp. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Spears served as director of UnitedHealth Group for 15 years until his resignation in 2006.

Honors and philanthropy

Spears served as a trustee at Choate Rosemary Hall from 1979 to 1991 and became a Life Trustee in 1996. [14] He was chairman of the board of trustees from 1982 to 1987. He established the Spears Endowment for Spiritual and Moral Education at Choate.

Spears served as a trustee at Quinnipiac University from 1993 to 2005 and was chairman of the board of trustees from 2000 to 2005. [15] [16] He is a Trustee Emeritus at Quinnipiac and in 1998 received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the School of Law. [17] In 2006, he was inducted into the Business Leader Hall of Fame. [18]

Spears became a trustee of the HealthCare Chaplaincy in 1993 and a life trustee in 2001. [19] He served as the organization's chairman from 1996 to 2000. He established The Spears Research Institute in 1998. [20] The institute researches the relationship between spirituality and health.

From 2009 to 2016 Spears served as a trustee of the Nantucket Atheneum. [21] He served as vice chairman of the board for a portion of that time. [22]

Spears served as a trustee of Union Theological Seminary from 2000 to 2007 and as vice chairman during a portion of that time. [23] [24]

Spears is a Life Trustee at the Asian Cultural Council after serving as a trustee from 2013 to 2019. [25] [26]

Personal life

William G. Spears was married to Joan Spears née Bogardus from 1960 until her death in 2002. They had four children together.

Spears married Maria T. Spears in 2003. Mrs. Spears, widowed in 2000, has a daughter from her earlier marriage. They live in New York City.

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References

  1. ↑ "Torah Scroll Dedicated". Choate Rosemary Hall. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Undergraduate Alumni Index". Princeton University. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "HBS Campaign Update" (PDF). Harvard Business School. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 70". 1969. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Clark, Mary Marshall. "William G. Spears". Healthcare Chaplaincy. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  6. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; KEYCORP AGREES TO BUY SPEARS, BENZAK". The New York Times. November 29, 1994. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  7. ↑ Sakelaris, Linda (13 December 2006). "Targets Sighted: TARGETS SIGHTED: KEY ASSET TAKES ITS INVESTMENTS SHOW ON THE ROAD". Pensions & Investments. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Spears Abacus". Spears Abacus. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Freed, Joshua (December 7, 2007). "Ex-UnitedHealth CEO Settles With SEC". The Washington Post. The Associated Press. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Dash, Eric (December 7, 2007). "Former Chief Will Forfeit $418 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "Schedule 14A Information". SEC Archives. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "Schedule 14A Avatar Holdings Inc". SEC Archives. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "Schedule 14A Information". SEC Archives. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "School Leadership". Choate Rosemary Hall. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Form 990" (PDF). Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  16. ↑ "Form 990" (PDF). Citizen Audit. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  17. ↑ "Quinnipiac University 2016-2017 Catalog" (PDF). Quinnipiac University. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  18. ↑ "Business Leader Hall of Fame". Quinnipiac University. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  19. ↑ "Shaping the Future of Health Care" (PDF). HealthCare Chaplaincy Network. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  20. ↑ "Spears Research Institute". HealthCare Chaplaincy Network. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  21. ↑ "2010 Annual Meeting Notice". Nantucket Atheneum. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  22. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Nantucket Atheneum. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Form 990" (PDF). Citizen Audit. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  24. ↑ "Form 990" (PDF). Citizen Audit. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  25. ↑ "Form 990" (PDF). Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  26. ↑ "Our Board of Trustees". Asian Cultural Council. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
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