David Komansky
David Herman Komansky was an American banker who was chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch & Company.
Early life and education
Komansky was born in 1939 in Manhattan, the son of William Komansky, a Ukrainian Jew who emigrated from Odesa as a child. His mother, Mae Rachel Burke, was Irish Catholic. His maternal grandparents emigrated from Ireland.He served in the U.S. Coast Guard, and then attended the University of Miami School of Business at the University of Miami in 1965. He dropped out of college without obtaining a degree. He later completed the highly selective Advanced Management Program for senior executives at Harvard University.
Career
In 1968, Komansky joined Merrill Lynch as a broker. He became a regional director in 1981 and an executive vice president in 1990. Komansky served as a director and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch from December 1996 to December 2002, and as a director, president and chief operating officer of the firm from January 1995 to December 1996. Komansky retired as chairman from Merrill Lynch in July 2003.He served as a director of BlackRock and as a member of the international advisory board of the British American Business Council. He was also a member of the board of directors of London-based WPP plc, a business conglomerate. In 2001, he was appointed to the board of trustees of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.