Walter V. Shipley
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Walter Vincent Shipley II (November 2, 1935 – January 11, 2019) was the chairman and chief executive officer of
Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...
and, previous to that, the company with which it merged
Chemical Bank Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United Stat ...
. Shipley was named chief executive of Chemical in 1981 and held the position through 1999 and remained at the bank as chairman through January 2000, just prior to the bank's merger with J.P. Morgan & Co. During his 18-year tenure, Shipley oversaw Chemical's mergers with Texas Commerce Bank in 1987,
Manufacturers Hanover Manufacturers Hanover Corporation was an American bank holding company that was formed as parent of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company (MHT or, informally, Manny Hanny), a large New York City bank formed through a merger in 1961 with ancestor c ...
in 1991 and
Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...
in 1996.


Early life and education

Shipley was the son of a Wall Street investment banker who regularly surrounded his wife and five children with visitors from overseas. He attended
Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
to study economics and political science, and at 6’8”, was named captain of the basketball team. However, off the court his grades slipped and he was forced to leave Williams in 1956, during his junior year. He referred to this as a wake-up call that made him determined to prove to his family and friends that "I was better than I had demonstrated up until that time." He joined the New York Trust Company that same year and earned his undergraduate degree from New York University in 1961.


Career

Shipley started his career in the loan department at
New York Trust Company The New York Trust Company was a large trust and wholesale-banking business that specialized in servicing large industrial accounts. It merged with the Chemical Corn Exchange Bank and eventually the merged entity became Chemical Bank. History 19t ...
in 1956. New York Trust was acquired by Chemical Bank in 1959. By the late 1970s, he was the head of Chemical Bank's international department. He was named executive vice president in 1979, president in 1981, 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 1983, all at Chemical Bank. After Chemical Bank's merger with Manufacturer's Hanover in 1991, he took a lower executive-level position. However, he was renamed as CEO of Chemical Bank in 1994. From 1996 through 1999, Shipley was CEO and chairman of the board of directors at Chase Manhattan, after its merger with Chemical Bank in 1996. In 1987, Shipley oversaw Chemical Bank's purchase of the Texas Commerce Bank in Houston. Initially, Texas Commerce incurred big losses for Chemical Bank due to a deteriorating economy in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. The acquisition was viewed unfavorably by many executives at Chemical Bank, and Wall Street bankers encouraged Chemical Bank to sell Texas Commerce. However, Texas Commerce was viewed as a "star-jewel" for Chemical Bank by the mid-1990s, according to ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' journalist Michael Quint. Throughout his career, Shipley served on the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
at several corporations, including; Exxon Mobil,
Wyeth Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was a pharmaceutical company until it was purchased by Pfizer in 2009. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as John Wyeth and Brother. Its headquarters moved to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, a ...
, and
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
.


Political involvement

Shipley participated in several political campaigns, including;
Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a United States Senate, United States senator from New ...
's run to be Democratic nominee for the United States President in 2000. He was also involved on
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's run for presidency in 2000 and 2004,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
's presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012, and
Alphonse D'Amato Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he chaired the Senate Banking C ...
run for the United States Senate in 1998. Shipley was a rumored candidate for
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
in 2000 but was passed over in favor of
Paul H. O'Neill Paul Henry O'Neill (December 4, 1935 April 18, 2020) was an American businessman and government official who served as the 72nd United States secretary of the treasury for part of President George W. Bush's first term, from January 2001 until his ...
.


Personal life

Shipley was the son of noted investment banker Linwood Parks Shipley, a partner in the investment banking firm of Brown Brothers Harriman & Company, and Emily Catherine (Herzog) Shipley. He was married to Judith Lyman Shipley from 1957 until her death in 2014. They had five children including Barbara T. Shipley, Allison P. Shipley, Pamela J. Shipley, Dorothy B. Shipley, and John P. Shipley. At the time of his death, he resided in
Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...
where he lived from his childhood. Shipley also had 7 grandchildren.


Philanthropy

Shipley was actively involved in many philanthropic organizations. He served as trustee at
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
,
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
, and
Goodwill Industries Goodwill Industries International Inc., or simply Goodwill, is an American business that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who face barriers in their employment. Goodwill Indust ...
.Shipley to Lead Drive
. June 22, 1985
He was head of Goodwill's strategic planning committee from 1983 until 2002, when he received Goodwill's Volunteer Leader Award. Shipley and his wife Judith V. Shipley were major supporters and donors at the Greater Newark Conservancy. The Greater Newark Conservancy named its Urban Environmental Center after Judith Shipley. Shipley and his wife were also supporters of the Summit Speech School and
NJPAC The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in Downtown Newark in Newark, New Jersey, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors (inclu ...
.


Notes


References


BANKING'S NEW GIANT: THE NEW CHIEF; Quiet Captain Weathers An Industry's Storms
New York Times, August 29, 1995

New York Times, May 24, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shipley, Walter V. 1935 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American bankers American chief executives of financial services companies Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey JPMorgan Chase people New York (state) Republicans New York University Stern School of Business alumni Williams College alumni