Frank G. Zarb
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Frank Zarb is a Managing Director and Senior Advisor at Hellman & Friedman. Mr. Zarb’s primary area of focus is the financial services industry.
Mr. Zarb is currently Chairman of NIFA (Nassau County Interim Finance Authority) and Interim Chairman and Lead Director at American International Group and a director of Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
Prior to joining Hellman & Friedman in 2002, Mr. Zarb was Chairman of NASD, Inc. and the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Mr. Zarb became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq® and its parent organization, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD®) in February 1997. He served as Nasdaq CEO until February 2001 and Chairman until September 2001. He served as NASD CEO until October 2000 and Chairman until September 2001. The NASD is the securities industry's largest self-regulatory organization and is the parent of the American Stock Exchange, NASD Regulation, Inc., and NASD Dispute Resolution, Inc.
From June 1994 through January 1997, Mr. Zarb was Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Alexander & Alexander Services, Inc., a global organization of professional advisors providing risk management, insurance brokerage, and human resource management consulting services from offices in more than 80 countries.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Zarb was a Vice Chairman and Group Chief Executive of The Travelers, Inc. and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Smith Barney, a Travelers subsidiary, which he joined in 1988. He was named Group Chief Executive on June 24, 1993. Mr. Zarb was elected a Vice Chairman of The Travelers, Inc. on September 25, 1991.
During his tenure a Smith Barney, Mr. Zarb oversaw growth in the firm's diversity and its clientele. Most importantly, he directed a series of record performances by the firm-from a pre-tax loss of $100 million in 1988 to a run rate of more than $200 million of after-tax profits in 1993. His responsibilities at The Travelers included direct management of Primerica Financial Services, American Capital Management Research, RCM Capital Management, and corporate administration and legal functions.
Before joining Smith Barney, Mr. Zarb was a senior partner of Lazard Freres & Co. From 1978 to 1988, he was responsible for a broad range of investment banking activities, including international and domestic corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.
From 1974 through 1977, Mr. Zarb was the senior official for all United States government energy-related activities, serving as Executive Director of the Cabinet-level Energy Resources Council, Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, and Assistant to the President for Energy Affairs (the "Energy Czar"). He led the nation's energy response to the first major oil embargo. Prior to those appointments, he had been Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1973 to 1974 and served as Assistant Secretary of Labor between 1971 and 1972. He has served in various assignments with the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations.
Before entering public service, Mr. Zarb acquired considerable experience in the securities industries where he began his career with Goodbody and Co. in 1962. He later served in various capacities for predecessor firms to Shearson Lehman Bros., as Executive Vice President of Marketing, Operations and Investment Banking, as well as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
In addition, Mr. Zarb has served as a member of the Board of Credit Suisse First Boston. He is a former Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange Nominating Committee. He served as Chairman of the Long Island Power Authority, the State agency responsible for overseeing the restructuring of the electric power system of Long Island.
In 1999, the Governor of New York named Mr. Zarb Chairman of the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, a body assembled to lead a state effort to turn around Nassau County's financial crisis.
Mr. Zarb is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation. He is a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Hofstra University, where he still serves as a Board member. Hofstra named its business school after Mr. Zarb.
Previously, Mr. Zarb was a member of the Mayor's Commission on Homelessness in New York City and led the Privatization Task Force of the New York City Partnership. He also served as Chairman of the Council for the U.S. and Italy.
Mr. Zarb, who earned his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees in business from Hofstra University, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by the University and the school's Outstanding Scholar Award. The Georgetown University McDonough School of Business conferred an Honorary Doctorate on him in 2000.
He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
