Robert Denham

Robert Edwin Denham was an American lawyer known for crisis management at struggling companies. Denham worked with Warren Buffet to reform Salomon Brothers and prevent its insolvency after a bids-rigging scandal. He continued as chairman and CEO of the firm until a $9 billion sale to Travelers Group.

Biography

Denham was born on August 27, 1945, in Dallas. He was raised in Abilene.
He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas and received a Juris Doctor degree from the Harvard Law School and an M.A. in government from the John F. [Kennedy School of Government] at Harvard University.
He was a partner in the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson from 1973 to 1991, and again from 1998. He served as chief executive officer of Salomon Brothers from 1992 to 1997. He was on the board of directors of the New York Times Company, Oaktree Capital Management, UGL, FEMSA and Chevron Corporation.
He was the chairman of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and vice chairman of the Good [Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)|Good Samaritan Hospital] of Los Angeles. He was a trustee of the James Irvine Foundation, the New Village Charter High School and the Russell Sage Foundation.
He died of cancer on March 15, 2025.