John J. Mack

John J. Mack
John J. Mack
Born	November 17, 1944 (age 81); Mooresville, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Investment banker
Years active	1972–present
Known for	Former chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley
Spouse	Christy Mack (née King)
Children	3

John J. Mack (born November 17, 1944) currently serves as a senior advisor at the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and is the former chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, a prominent investment bank and brokerage headquartered in New York.

Early life and education

Mack was born in Mooresville, North Carolina to Alice (née Azouri) and Charles Mack. His paternal family name was originally Makhoul before they emigrated from Lebanon to the United States, eventually settling in North Carolina. From 1937 through the 1990s, his father ran a wholesale business dealing in groceries, clothing, and general merchandise under the name John Mack & Son in Mooresville. Raised as the youngest of six brothers, Mack grew up in a Catholic household.

He graduated from Duke University in 1968, where he studied history on a football scholarship. His path into finance began during his junior year when an injury ended his athletic pursuits, leading him to work as a clerk at a small brokerage firm.

Morgan Stanley

Mack’s professional journey at Morgan Stanley started in 1972 as a salesperson, where he remained for almost three decades. He advanced through various roles, eventually leading the Worldwide Taxable Fixed Income Division from 1985 until 1992. In 1987, he secured a position on the board of directors and by March 1992 was appointed chairman of the operating committee, managing daily operations. He assumed the role of president in June 1993 and later served as president, COO, and director of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. beginning May 1997 after the merger between Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter.

Following a leadership dispute with Phil Purcell, who became CEO post-merger, Mack departed Morgan Stanley in 2001.

Credit Suisse

Within six months of leaving Morgan Stanley, Mack took on the CEO role at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) in June 2001. His leadership concentrated on organizational restructuring and addressing compliance issues associated with the Technology Group headed by Frank Quattrone.

Return to Morgan Stanley

On June 30, 2005, Mack returned to Morgan Stanley as both CEO and chairman, succeeding Purcell. His tenure is noted for stabilizing the company and rejuvenating its corporate culture and client relationships during challenging economic periods.

Mack announced his decision to step down as CEO on September 10, 2009, with his retirement taking effect January 1, 2010. He fully exited Morgan Stanley by 2011 after contributing over thirty years to investment banking. James P. Gorman, former co-president, succeeded him as CEO.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

In 2012, Mack began serving as a senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Rosneft

Mack joined Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned oil company with BP owning roughly a 20% stake, in 2013. He left the company in 2014 shortly after CEO Igor Sechin was subjected to US sanctions. While Mack cited that his departure followed a one-year contract term, Rosneft attributed it to personal reasons.

Insider trading accusations

In 2006, former SEC investigator Gary J. Aguirre accused Mack of involvement in insider trading. However, on October 5, 2006, the SEC recommended no enforcement action against him. By late November that year, the investigation was closed without any charges filed.

Compensation

During his tenure as Morgan Stanley CEO in 2006, Mack’s total earnings amounted to $41.4 million, which included an $800,000 base salary alongside more than $40 million in stock and options. In contrast, his compensation totaled $1.2 million in 2008 without any stock or options granted.

In a 2014 interview on Bloomberg Television, Mack defended substantial CEO remuneration levels by acknowledging that while debates around pay are important, executives generally merit their compensation packages.

2008 financial crisis

During the 2008 financial crisis, Mack steered the company through turbulent times by reinforcing its capital base and managing its transition into a bank holding company. To ensure stability, he forged key partnerships with China Investment Corporation and Mitsubishi UFJ Group, and established a joint venture with Smith Barney, resulting in what was then the largest wealth management firm globally. Throughout this period, Mack received counsel from U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to consider selling Morgan Stanley. He encountered intense pressure from New York Federal Reserve president Tim Geithner to merge or sell to rivals such as JP Morgan.^[1] Mack declined, believing that such a sale would harm shareholders and employees, similar to Bear Stearns’ compelled acquisition by JP Morgan, and instead sought other financing alternatives.^[2]

Board memberships

New York-Presbyterian Hospital: Chairman Emeriti, Board of Trustees – since 1992
Duke University: trustee
University Hospital of Columbia University: trustee
University Hospital of Cornell University: trustee
IMG: board director
Bloomberg Family Foundation: board member
Business Council: member
Business Roundtable: member
China Investment Corporation: International Advisory Council member
Mayor of Beijing: International Business Leaders Advisory Council participant
Monetary Authority of Singapore: member of international advisory panel
Partnership for New York City: executive committee member and director
November 2011: Rev Worldwide: board director
2012: LendingClub: board member

Philanthropy

Through the Christy and John Mack Foundation, previously known as the C.J. Mack Foundation, Mack has contributed generously:

1999: Donated $10 million to Duke University for multiple projects
2004: Provided $10 million to support integrative medicine at Duke University
2005: Established an endowment for the Admiral Frank Bowman Scholar Program at the United States Naval Academy Foundation
2007: Gave $5 million to Shaw University to fund academic scholarships at this historically black institution

Since 1992, he has been a trustee of NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, serving five years as chairman, where he played an instrumental role in financing and constructing NYP’s Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, New York City's sole independent children’s hospital.

In media

Known as "Mack the Knife" for his adept cost-cutting at Morgan Stanley, he solidified this image at CSFB by eliminating 10,000 positions and returning the firm to profitability.

Mack’s persona was depicted by Tony Shalhoub in HBO’s Too Big to Fail and by Henry Goodman in BBC’s The Last Days of Lehman Brothers. His professional journey is chronicled in Patricia Beard’s 2007 work Blue Blood and Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley. The documentary Plunder: The Crime of Our Time (2010) opens with a demonstration outside his residence by individuals impacted by the Great Recession.

His memoir and career overview, titled Up Close and All In: Life Lessons from a Wall Street Warrior, was released by Simon & Schuster in October 2022.

Selected interviews

Mack, John. "Wharton Leadership Lecture: John Mack on Rescuing Morgan Stanley, Inside the Bunker." Knowledge at Wharton. University of Pennsylvania. October 14, 2009.
Mack, John and Hank Paulson. "Full Interview with Mack and Paulson." CNN Money. NYU Stern School of Business. March 2010.
Rose, Charlie. "Zhou Wenzhong; John Mack, Morgan Stanley Chairman; Kenneth Roth on Human Rights in China; A Tribute to Reynolds Price." Charlie Rose. January 20, 2011. Interview starts at 25:30.

Personal life

Mack is married to Christy Mack (née King). The family lives in New York City with their three children.