Walid Chammah
Walid A. Chammah | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 12, 1954 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, financial advisor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | Former co-president of Morgan Stanley & Co., Chairman of Morgan Stanley International |
Walid A. Chammah (born April 12, 1954, in Beirut, Lebanon) is a former co-president of Morgan Stanley & Co. and served as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International. After a tenure exceeding 19 years, he retired in early 2012, during which he managed the Global Institutional Securities division and was a member of both the Management and Operating Committees.
Prior to his time at Morgan Stanley, Chammah held the position of managing director at The First Boston Corporation, where he led the U.S. Taxable Fixed Income Capital Markets and Structured Finance departments. He was instrumental in developing the asset-backed securities (ABS) market and advancing non-mortgage securitization, earning partnership status in 1987.
Chammah currently holds board memberships at the American University of Beirut and Bucherer USA. He also contributes as an advisory board member for SIGNA Group and HEC Montreal and acts as a senior policy advisor for I Squared Capital. His previous board involvements include roles with the IMF's Financial Institutions Consultative Group, British American Business Council, Rosneft Bank, and Sovcomflot from 2015 to 2022.
Presently, he is a partner at Chammah & Partners, a firm specializing in financial advisory services tailored to institutional and private clients.
Early life and education
Originally from Lebanon, Chammah obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the American University of Beirut in 1976. He furthered his education by earning a master's degree in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1977.
Career
Chammah commenced his career at Morgan Stanley in 1993 as Head of U.S. Debt Capital Markets. In 1996, he advanced to become Worldwide Head of Debt Capital Markets Services. His responsibilities broadened in 2001 to encompass Worldwide Leveraged Finance. The following year, he founded and led the Global Capital Markets Group, merging the firm's debt and equity capital markets operations. In 2005, he was appointed Global Head of Investment Banking and later served as co-president from September 2007 until December 2009.
His professional journey began at First Boston Corporation, where he was a pioneer in asset-backed securities and non-mortgage securitization. There, he led a prominent Wall Street team that developed securitization solutions for automotive loans, credit cards, home equity loans, and collateralized debt obligations.
Personal life
Mr. Chammah wed Karin Zumtobel on June 12, 1999; the couple has four children together.