Ronald Kramer (business)
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Ronald J. "Ron" Kramer (born 1958) is an American
business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations gr ...
. He is the Chairman and
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 ...
of Griffon Corporation, a conglomerate
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
headquartered in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
.


Biography

Kramer received a B.S. from the
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
in 1980 and an
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
in 1981. He started his career at
Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
and then worked as a corporate finance specialist at Ladenburg Thalmann, a
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
-based investment bank, for thirteen years, becoming
Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
and
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 ...
in 1995. In 1999, Kramer became a
Managing Director 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 ...
and Partner at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and its successor
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein SG Kleinwort Hambros is a private bank owned by Société Générale that offers financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Gibraltar. History In June 2016, Société Générale acquired Kleinwort Benson ...
. Kramer left
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 ...
in 2002 to become President and Director of Wynn Resorts Ltd (), a
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
-based developer and operator of destination casino resorts. Kramer succeeded his father-in-law Harvey R. Blau as CEO of Griffon in 2008. To improve Griffon's balance sheet, Kramer secured a new $100 million revolving line of credit from
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 ...
, exited the residential installation services business, refinanced Griffon's
senior debt In finance, senior debt is debt that takes priority over other unsecured or otherwise more "junior" debt owed by an issuer. Senior debt is frequently issued in the form of senior notes or referred to as senior loans. Senior debt has greater senior ...
, and raised approximately $250 million through a common stock rights offering with investments by
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
and Kramer himself. This recapitalization built a foundation to transform the company for growth. In 2017, Kramer repositioned Griffon's Portfolio by selling its Clopay Plastics business and acquiring ClosetMaid a home storage and organization business. In addition, Griffon executed a number of smaller tuck-in acquisitions for Griffon's subsidiary, The AMES Companies, which expanded the company's geographic footprint in Australia and the United Kingdom as well as expanding the AMES product portfolio. In May 2018, Griffon announced the acquisition of CornellCookson, a leader in rolling steel commercial doors, to further expand Griffon's Clopay Building Products in the commercial market. Griffon operates as a diversified management and holding company, conducting business through its wholly owned subsidiaries: Clopay Building Products, the largest manufacturer of residential garage doors in North America; The AMES Companies, a leading global manufacturer of non-powered lawn and garden tools and accessories; ClosetMaid, a leading North American manufacturer and marketer of closet organization, home storage, and garage storage products; and Telephonics Corporation, a manufacturer of advanced electronic surveillance, intelligence and communication systems for defense, aerospace and civil applications. Kramer has served on the Board of Directors of Leap Wireless International,
Monster Worldwide Monster Worldwide, Inc., formerly TMP Worldwide, is an American provider of employment services, most notably Monster.com. Through online media sites and services, the company delivers targeted audiences to advertisers. History In , Andrew ...
, Sapphire Industrials Corporation, Grand Casinos, Republic Properties, New Valley Corporation, and Lakes Entertainment. Kramer currently serves as the Chairman of the Undergraduate Board of the
Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
. He resides with his wife, Stephanie, and two daughters in New York City.


Personal life

In 1992, he married Stephanie Blau, daughter of Harvey R. Blau, in a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
ceremony at the Metropolitan Club in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Ronald Living people 1958 births 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews American chief executives American corporate directors Wharton School alumni New York University Stern School of Business alumni 21st-century American Jews