Josephine Holt Perfect Bay (August 10, 1900–August 6, 1962) was an American financier and businessperson. She notably became the first woman to head a constituent firm 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 ...

Biography

Josephine Perfect Bay () was born in Anamosa,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

in 1900 to a real estate broker and his wife. Her family moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

when she was young, and she was educated at

Brooklyn Heights Seminary The Brooklyn Heights Seminary was a private school in Brooklyn, New York. Early history The Brooklyn Heights Seminary was founded by Alonzo Gray in 1851. It was an offshoot of the Brooklyn Female Academy (est. 1845), which eventually became the ...

and attended Colorado College from 1918 to 1919. She married her first husband

Charles Ulrick Bay Charles Ulrick Bay (September 5, 1888 – December 31, 1955) was an American businessman and diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to Norway from 1946 to 1953. Biography Bay operated an oil company and served in the Office of Strategic ...

, a businessman and

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

officer, in 1942. Ulrick Bay would go on to become the United States ambassador to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

before dying in 1955. At the time of his death, he held a 71% stake in A.M. Kidder & Co, a New York brokerage firm. In accordance with the rules of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), this required Charles' beneficiary to either sell their shares or assume his former role in the firm. Rather than divest her stake, Josephine Bay chose to head the firm, and in 1956 became the president and chairman of A.M. Kidder & Co. In doing so, she became the first woman to lead a member firm of the NYSE. She would also serve as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of American Export Lines. In 1959, she married Paul Michael Iogolevitch, also known as Capton Michael Paul, a Russian émigré who had become a successful banker. She remained the head of A.M. Kidder and chairman of the board of American Export Lines until her death in 1962. The Josephine Bay Paul Center at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

is named in her honor.

References

1900 births 1962 deaths American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1900s-stub People from Anamosa, Iowa American financiers New York Stock Exchange people