Frank G. Zarb

'57 B.B.A., '62 M.B.A.
Former Chairman/CEO NASD; Hofstra Trustee & former Chairman

Frank G. Zarb is Chairman of Frank Zarb Associates, LLC. He is non-executive Chairman of Promontory Financial Group, LLC.  He serves as Senior Advisor to Hellman & Friedman, LLC, Advisor to The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., the NASD and other clients.

Mr. Zarb served as Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Securities Dealers from February 1997 until November 2000.  He served as Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (a NASD company) from January 2000 until February 2001.

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, from June 1994 through January 1997.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Zarb was Vice Chairman and 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 at Smith Barney, Mr. Zarb oversaw international growth in the firm’s diversity and its clientele.  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, focusing on international finance, and acted as financial advisor to governments around the world.

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 these 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 industry where he began his career with Goodbody and Co. in 1962.  He served in various capacities for predecessor firms of Shearson Lehman Brothers, as Executive Vice President of Marketing, Operations and Investment Banking as well as Chairman of the Executive Committee.

He has served as a Director on thirteen public company boards.  He served as Chairman of Long Island Power Authority, the State agency responsible for overseeing the restructuring of the electric power system of Long Island.

In 2003, the Governor of New York named Mr. Zarb Chairman of the NYS Commission on Education Reform, a bipartisan group of educational, business and community leaders who worked together to reform New York State’s educational system.

In 2001, the Governor of New York appointed Mr. Zarb to the Board of Directors of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, an organization charged with overseeing the development of the Downtown New York City area following the September 11th World Trade Center attacks.

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.

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 served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve and retired with the rank of Captain.