John Joseph Phelan Jr. (May 7, 1931 – August 4, 2012) was an American financier who served as president and later chairman and chief executive of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

, where he introduced computerized trading technology. Phelan's leadership tenure at the NYSE included the

1987 stock market crash Black Monday is the name commonly given to the global, sudden, severe, and largely unexpected stock market crash on Monday, October 19, 1987. In Australia and New Zealand, the day is also referred to as ''Black Tuesday'' because of the time z ...

, during which he declined to halt trading. Phelan's calm and confident manner was widely praised. After the crash, Phelan helped to implement

trading curbs A trading curb (typically known as a circuit breaker in Wall Street parlance) is a financial regulatory instrument that is in place to prevent stock market crashes from occurring, and is implemented by the relevant stock exchange organization. Si ...

also known as "circuit breakers" to help prevent rapid stock selloffs in the future.

Biography

Phelan was born in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, on May 7, 1931, to John Phelan Sr., a financier and member of the NYSE, and Edna Kelly. He started college in 1949, but left after two years to serve in the US Marine Corps. After returning from the Marines, Phelan went to work as a floor trader with his father's firm, Phelan & Co. and attended

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration. John Phelan Jr. died on August 4, 2012, in

at age 81 from cancer.

Notable achievements

Phelan became the first foreigner to own shares of a Chinese company when he was presented with a stock certificate of the ''Flying Happiness Acoustic Company'' by the then General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Deng Xiaoping in 1986. John Phelan was at that time the head of a US delegation of Wall Street financiers. This was remarkable event that signaled Chinese commitment towards developing its own stock exchange as well as further economic reforms along market economy lines.

Personal life

He married Joyce and had three sons: John, David, and Peter. Phelan was on the board of Catholic Charities.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelan, John J. Jr. 1931 births 2012 deaths Adelphi University alumni New York Stock Exchange people United States Marines Presidents of the New York Stock Exchange