Alan Schwartz

Alan David Schwartz

Early life and education Born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, he is the son of a Jewish traveling salesman and Presbyterian housewife from Kansas. Schwartz is a 1972 graduate of Duke University. There he pitched on the baseball team as a scholarship athlete, making the ACC academic honor roll three times. He was drafted as a pitcher by the Cincinnati Reds but never reported due to an injury. He became Co-President and Co-COO on June 25, 2001. Schwartz became sole President and COO in August 2007 after Warren Spector (the original heir-apparent to Chairman and CEO Jimmy Cayne) was forced to resign in the wake of the collapse of two hedge funds, which foreshadowed the upcoming subprime mortgage crisis and financial meltdown. Schwartz became CEO in January 2008.

When Schwartz became CEO, Bear Stearns stock traded around $75 per share; however, the share price continued to drop as the financial crisis worsened over 2007-08. Within a week of its near collapse and merger with JPMorgan Chase on March 16, 2008, the shares were trading at $5.33 per share. After the deal with JPMorgan was announced, the fire sale price of the stock prompted a reportedly angry confrontation between Schwartz and senior trader Alan Mintz in the company gym. Schwartz stayed on with JPMorgan for a short while to manage the transition but declined a permanent senior position with the firm. Schwartz also turned down offers from rival investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. According to Schwartz, the new job meant "fate has dealt [him] an opportunity to start from scratch." In 1994, Schwartz was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.

In 2006, he was a founding board member of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Personal life Schwartz resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife, Nancy Seaman, chairman of Houlihan Lawrence Realty Corporation. They have five children.