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Leadership Award for TIAA-CREF CEO Herb Allison
April 12, 2005
NEW YORK—Stanford University's Graduate School of Business honored Herbert M. Allison Jr., chairman, president, and CEO of TIAA-CREF, with the School's 2005 Excellence in Leadership Award at a gala dinner of nearly 200 guests here Tuesday.
The award marks the Business School's commitment to underscoring the importance of leadership in business by highlighting the achievements of a senior executive and Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus/a who has made significant contributions to both the corporate world and the community.
"Good management is a crucial resource and responsibility, a necessity in today's fast paced and complex markets," said Robert L. Joss, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. "We are pleased to recognize the achievements of alumni who have exhibited the integrity and leadership ability that we hope all our students will demonstrate throughout their careers.
"During his 28 years at Merrill Lynch, Herb Allison demonstrated leadership at multiple levels of management, ultimately leading the organization as president and chief operating officer," said Joss. "Since 2002, he has been a catalyst for change at the helm of TIAA-CREF, leading a reorganization and new initiatives to sustain that Fortune 100 company into the future. Herb also has devoted himself to higher education through his service on several boards committed to management education, as well as his leadership role at AllLearn, an online learning organization."
Allison's career at Merrill Lynch began as an associate in investment banking soon after his graduation from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. During his years at Merrill Lynch, Allison served in numerous leadership positions. He held posts in Paris, London and Tehran, becoming president, COO, and a member of the board in 1997. He ran both investment banking and the corporate and institutional group, and served at various times as head of human resources and chief financial officer.
After leaving Merrill Lynch in 1999, Allison served as national finance chairman for U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. In 2000, Allison became CEO of the startup Alliance for Lifelong Learning (AllLearn), a joint venture of Oxford, Stanford, and Yale universities aimed at developing college-level online courses.
Allison joined TIAA-CREF in 2002. Since then, he has worked to ensure that the company keeps pace with the rapidly evolving needs of its customers and institutional clients. Allison led a full-scale review of the organization that has resulted in the introduction of new investment products as well as advice and planning services and a larger branch office network—all focused on TIAA-CREF's core market of customers in higher education, research, medicine and the cultural community.
Allison has served his community through several important venues. He is on the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange. He also sits on the advisory board of the Yale School of Management and is a past chairman of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. He is vice chair of the Business-Higher Education Forum, and recently served on Gov. George Pataki's New York State Commission on Education Reform. He also is a member of the Business Roundtable. In 2005, Allison stepped down as chair of the Vietnam Education Foundation (a federal agency), and from the board of the United Negro College Fund.
Allison earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Yale in 1965. Following four years in the U.S. Navy, including service in Vietnam, he earned his MBA at Stanford in 1971.
The award dinner, held at the Union League Club, was generously supported by Dean's Circle Sponsors: General Atlantic Partners, Scott M. Stuart and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Lexington Partners, and Pfizer Inc. Previous recipients of the award, established in 2003, have been Henry A. McKinnell, Jr., CEO of Pfizer, and Robert G. Scott, former president and chief operating officer at Morgan Stanley.