George Herbert Walker IV (born 1969) is an American investment manager.[1][2] He is the chairman and CEO of Neuberger Berman, one of the largest independent, employee-owned investment management firms.[3][4] During Walker's tenure, the firm survived the implosion of its corporate parent, Lehman Brothers, and was repurchased by the employees and has since been amongst the industry's best performers.[5] Walker is the first cousin once removed of 41st U.S. president George H. W. Bush, and the second cousin of 43rd president George W. Bush and Florida governor Jeb Bush.
George Herbert Walker IV | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969 |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation(s) | Corporate CEO, investment banker |
| Employer(s) | Neuberger Berman Lehman Brothers Goldman Sachs |
Early life and education
editWalker was raised in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] His parents are Kimberly Gedge and George Herbert Walker III, an investment brokerage executive and U.S. Ambassador to Hungary.[6][7]
He comes from a family of industrialists and financiers, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Walker's great-grandfather, George Herbert Walker, was the founder of G. H. Walker & Co., a securities firm, which eventually became part of Merrill Lynch.[6] His grandfather, George Herbert Walker Jr., was a co-founder of the NY Mets.[6] His grand-aunt, Dorothy, married Senator Prescott Bush, father of U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush and grandfather of U.S. President George Walker Bush.[7]
He went to high school at St. Louis Country Day School. In 1986, he received a scholarship from the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag to study in Germany for the 1986-87 school year.[1]
Walker went to the University of Pennsylvania where he received the Harry S. Truman Scholarship and was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.[8][9] He was also a member of St. Anthony Hall.[10][11] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and received a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in European History, both summa cum laude.[8][12]
He also received his MBA as a Palmer Scholar from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[8]
Career
editWalker began his career on Wall Street when he joined Goldman Sachs in the Merger Department in 1992.[9] Six years later, in 1998, Walker became one of the youngest partners in the firm's history.[8] He held several senior positions at Goldman, including co-head of the firm's Wealth Management business / "gs.com", and head of Alternative Investment Strategies.[8]
President George Herbert Walker Bush appointed Walker to the Jacob Javits and Presidential Scholar Boards for the Department of Education.[8]
Walker was recruited to a rival investment bank, Lehman Brothers, to head its Investment Management Division, of which Neuberger Berman was a part. Following Lehman's bankruptcy, Walker led a management buyout and assumed his present position of chairman and CEO of Neuberger Berman.[3][4] Neuberger Berman has been named as a Best Place to Work by Pensions and Investments for the last 10 years, finishing first or second.[13]
In October 2023, Walker was elected to serve as Chair of the Investment Company Institute (ICI) Board of Governors.[14]
Community Service
editWalker's current board service includes the Partnership for New York City (Vice Chair), the Ford Foundation, Memorial Sloan Kettering Center and the Trinity School.[15][16]
He served on the board of the New School University, Parsons School of Design (Chair), the University of Pennsylvania Arts & Sciences’ Board of Advisors, and Youth EnterNet.[8][12][17] He also served on the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.[12] In 2003, he funded the Alan Charles Kors Term Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania in honor of a former professor.[17]
Personal life
editHe is married to the former Nancy Dorn. [citation needed]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Education/Careers". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 14, 1986. p. 29. Retrieved May 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Name's Almost the Same". Philadelphia Daily News. November 19, 1988. p. 26. Retrieved May 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Neubarger To Be Acquired By Bain Capital And Hellman & Friedman" (PDF). Neubarger Berman. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-20.
- ^ a b "Lehman Brothers' presidential connections".
- ^ New York Times Dealbook: A Chief Delivers Neuberger Berman From the Shadow of Lehman
- ^ a b c "Obituary for Ambassador George Herbert Walker III at Lupton Chapel, Inc". www.luptonchapel.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ a b Schlinkmann, Mark. "G.H. 'Bert' Walker III — civic leader, brokerage executive, and philanthropist — dies at 88". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Lessons in Leadership: George Walker C '91, WH '91, WG '92". University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 2008-05-18. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
- ^ a b "Meet our 1989 Truman Scholars". Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ "18 College Frats With Big Name Wall Street Alumni". Business Insider. July 26, 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ "'Moral Compass' of Psi Upsilon". The Philadelphia Daily News. June 1, 2015. p. 7. Retrieved May 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "George H. Walker". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ "Pensions & Investments".
- ^ "Investment Company Institute Board of Governors Elects George Walker as Chair". Investment Company Institute. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ "Ford Foundation Appoints George H. Walker to Board of Trustees". Ford Foundation. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ "Board of Directors". Partnership for New York City. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b "George H. Walker IV, C'91, W'91, WG'92 | Penn Arts & Sciences Endowed Professors". web.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-31.