Thomas Ludlow Chrystie II (May 24, 1933 – December 24, 2013) was an American banker who served as the first

Chief Financial Officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

of Merrill Lynch & Company and industry pioneer who created the Cash Management Account.

Early life

Chrystie was born on May 24, 1933, in Manhattan, the son of Thomas Witter Chrystie, a lawyer and trustee of Columbia University, and Helen Duell Chrystie. His father was a descendant of John Albert Weygand, a founding trustee of

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

, appointed in the Royal charter of October 31, 1754. He graduated from the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, in 1951 and from Columbia College in 1955. After college, he was hired by

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

. He left briefly to serve in the U.S. Air Force from 1956 to 1958. He received his M.B.A. from New York University in 1960.

Career

After

went public in 1971, he served as its first

in charge of planning and development. He remained at the firm until his retirement in 1988.

Invention of the cash management account

During his tenure as CFO, Chrystie is credited with developing the cash management account, in which clients could stow dividend and interest income and earn interest rates higher than those offered by banks. His brainchild attracted 300,000 accounts, valued at $6 billion of new investment into

and helped drive the firm's growth into a full-service financial provider and it soon became standard practice among the industry. By 1976, Merrill Lynch became the world's largest stockbroker and was the leading bank in mutual funds, commodity trading, and municipal bonds. Chrystie's invention of the C.M.A. was described by the ABA Banking Journal, "one of the top dozen or so events that changed the financial services industry." Like his father and grandfather, Chrystie also served as a trustee of Columbia University. He was appointed in 1975. After his retirement, he became a real estate developer. He owned the

Wort Hotel The Wort Hotel was built in downtown Jackson, Wyoming, United States by brothers John and Jess Wort, who were significant figures in the transformation of the economy of Jackson Hole from ranching to tourism. The somewhat Tudor-style building wa ...

and helped Aman Resorts develop Amangani in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Personal life

He is a direct descendant of Captain

John Chrystie John Chrystie (4 January 1788 – 23 July 1813) was a United States Army officer who played a major but controversial part in the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812. He was educated at Princeton College and Columbia College, from w ...

, a United States Army officer who graduated from

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

in 1806 and played a major role in the

Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812. Resulting in a British victory, it took place on 13 October 1812 near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). The battle was fought between United States regulars wit ...

and is the namesake of Chrystie Street in Manhattan, New York. He is also a descendant, through his great-grandfather, Dr. Thomas Mackaness Ludlow Chrystie, of Commodore James Nicholson, who served in the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

during the American Revolutionary War. He died on December 24, 2013, at a care facility in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrystie, Thomas Ludlow II 1933 births 2013 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni New York University Stern School of Business alumni Merrill (company) people American real estate businesspeople American financiers People from New York City Taft School alumni American investment bankers