Alan Courtney "Ace" Greenberg (September 3, 1927 – July 25, 2014) was an American businessman who was an executive at The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., serving as its CEO from 1978 to 1993 and Chairman of the Board from 1985 to 2001.

Early life and education

Greenberg was born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

but raised in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

in an upper-middle-class neighborhood,"Where the Ace is King"
Sarah Bartlett. ''The New York Times''. June 11, 1989. to a Jewish family, one of three children of Theodore and Esther Greenberg.
Robert D. McFadden. ''The New York Times''. July 25, 2014. His father owned a woman's clothing store and was part of an extended family that operated clothing stores in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Greenberg first attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

on a football scholarship. After injuring his back, he transferred to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, from which he graduated with a B.A. in business in 1949. Greenberg pursued a career on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

after college, accepting a position as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chas ...

for $32.50 per week.

Career

Greenberg rose through the ranks of Bear Stearns eventually serving as its

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from 1978 to 1993 and

Chairman of the Board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

from 1985 to 2001. Greenberg also served as a non-executive director of Viacom. He was the author of ''Memos from the Chairman'', which is a compilation of memos he issued to the associates of Bear Stearns during his tenure as CEO. In 1969, Greenberg hired James Cayne as a stockbroker at Bear Stearns. In 1993, Greenberg was ousted and replaced as CEO by Cayne. Cayne served as CEO until January 2008 and was succeeded by Alan Schwartz, who oversaw the firm's demise in March 2008."Cayne to Step Down As Bear Stearns CEO"
Kate Kelly. ''The Wall Street Journal''. January 8, 2008. While serving as chairman of the executive committee of Bear Stearns, Greenberg oversaw the collapse of the company in March 2008. He was subsequently involved in the talks with

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

which eventually bought out the failing company. ''Fortune'' reported that Greenberg agreed to join JPMC as vice chairman of Bear's retail business. Greenberg was the financier of Kaufman and Greenberg, a company he set up with Richard Kaufman to publish magic books.

Philanthropy

* Greenberg was a member of the Society of American Magicians. In 1998, Greenberg donated $1 million to New York City's Hospital for Special Surgery to underwrite

sildenafil Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain sym ...

prescriptions for impotent men without necessary income. * UJA-Federation of New York named him "a giant in our community and a stalwart champion of the Jewish people, both at home and in Israel." * "You do some nutty things," Greenberg stated and he told ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' that his wife Kathryn told him, "you've made your money, and you can spend it any way you want."

Personal life

Alan Greenberg was married twice: *His first wife was Ann Greenberg"WEDDINGS; Kathleen Cigich, Ted Greenberg"
''The New York Times''. October 21, 2001. whom he divorced in 1976. They have two children: **Lynne Koeppel who was the first woman to own a seat on the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...

. She later gave up her seat to focus on raising her two children, Allison and Melissa Frey. In 1991, she and her first husband, Jonathan Frey, divorced. Frey and his father-in-law engaged in a very public lawsuit over unpaid interest on a loan Greenberg had made to Frey for the purchase of the newly married couple's first home, a lawsuit Greenberg lost. Lynne is remarried to Caleb Koeppel, son of Alfred J. Koeppel. ** Ted Greenberg who works, as his father did, in risk arbitrage at Dresdner Kleinwort, a subsidiary of

Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG () was a German bank, founded in 1872 in Dresden, then headquartered in Berlin from 1884 to 1945 and in Frankfurt from 1963 onwards after a postwar hiatus. Long Germany's second-largest bank behind Deutsche Bank, it was eventually ...

in New York City. Ted is a graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and was also a writer in the 1980s for ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Ted is married to Kathleen Marie Cigich (maiden name Durst). *In 1987, he married 40-year-old Kathryn A. Olson who is the board chair of

Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the Law school in the United States, law school of Yeshiva University in New York City. Founded in 1976 and now located on Fifth Avenue near Union Square, Manhattan, Union Square in Lower Manhattan, the sc ...

and the founder of the New York Legal Assistance Group.

Death

On July 25, 2014, Greenberg died of cancer.

Bridge accomplishments

Greenberg was an avid

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

player, having won the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams in 1977. In 1981, he won the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

teams bridge tournament"Bridge: United States Team Gains a Strong Victory in Israel"
Alan Truscott. ''The New York Times''. July 20, 1981. and was second in the Reisinger later that year.

Wins

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual contract bridge, bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November fo ...

(1) **

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

(1) 1977

Runner-up finishes

(1) **

(1) 1981

References

External links

Alan C. Greenberg scrapbooks
a
New-York Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenberg, Alan 1927 births American chief executives of financial services companies American contract bridge players University of Missouri alumni Bear Stearns Businesspeople from Oklahoma City 2014 deaths Bear Stearns people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews