George M. Ferris Jr. (1927–2008) was an American investment banker and philanthropist.Adam Bernstein
George Ferris Jr.; Investment Banker And Philanthropist
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'', October 22, 2008Frederick N. Rasmussen
George M. Ferris Jr.
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'', October 22, 2008

Early life and education

George Malette Ferris Jr. was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on March 11, 1927. His father was

George M. Ferris George M. Ferris (1893–1992) was an American investment banker and philanthropist.< ...

, founder and former president and chairman of the Washington Stock Exchange, now part of the

Philadelphia Stock Exchange Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), now known as Nasdaq PHLX, is the first stock exchange established in the United States and the oldest stock exchange in the nation. The exchange is owned by Nasdaq, which acquired it in 2007 for $652 million, ...

.George M. Ferris, 99, Ex-Investment Banker
''

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'', November 01, 1992 He grew up in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

, and graduated from the St. Albans School in 1944. He received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1948, where he was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, and an M.B.A. from the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1950.

Career

He joined his family business, Ferris & Co., shortly after graduate school in 1950. In 1988, it became Ferris, Baker Watts after a merger with Baker, Watts & Co., a Baltimore brokerage firm founded in 1900 by Sewell S. Watts Sr. and William G. Baker Jr. The bank attracted assets from high-tech businesses and government contractors. It has forty-two branches in eight states. He retired in 1997 and became chairman of the board. He also sat on the Board of Governors 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, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

and served as President of the Investment Bankers Association of America for three terms. He sat on the board of TCA TrustCorp of America and Marshfield Associates. He served as Chairman of the President's Task Force on International Private Enterprise. Starting 1960, he worked for the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

, spurring private-sector development by establishing

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...

s and other

financial market infrastructure Financial market infrastructure refers to systems and entities involved in Clearing (finance), clearing, Settlement (finance), settlement, and the recording of payments, Security (finance), securities, Derivative (finance), derivatives, and other ...

. In the 1990s, he led a commission that released a scathing report of the way the USAID was run. He also served as a consultant to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. In June 2008, he sold Ferris Baker Watts to

Dain Rauscher Wessels Dain Rauscher Wessels was a brokerage and investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm traced its origins to a number of smaller regional securities firms founded in the 1920s and 1930s. In 2000, Dain Rauscher Wessels was ...

, a subsidiary of the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

for US$230 million.

Philanthropy

He donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, where he served as chairman in 2008. He was an avid donator along with the Ferris Family Foundation to the Boys and Girls Clubs. He was an officer of the

Federal City Council Federal City Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes economic development in the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Incorporated on September 13, 1954, it is one of the most powerful private groups in the city, a ...

, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., and co-chaired a committee on improving public schools in the city. He also served as campaign Chairman for the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

, Vice Chairman of the

Smithsonian National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...

and general campaign Chairman for the

United Way of America United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual United Ways mobilize a sin ...

. Shortly after his death in 2008, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington named a clubhouse in honor of George M. Ferris Jr, becoming the George M. Ferris clubhouse, located in Washington, D.C. George M. Ferris, member of the Ferris Family Foundation, donated money to

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Hartford, Connecticut, where his father, founder of the firm Ferris Baker Watts, attended and graduated. His son, David Ferris, graduated Trinity as well.

Personal life

His first marriage to Helen Willard, with whom he had two children, George Ferris III and W. Bradley Ferris, ended in divorce. He was then married to Nancy Strouce Ferris, who had one daughter Karen Kelly from her prior marriage, for forty-four years and with whom he also had a daughter, Kimberly Ferris, and a son, David Ferris. He was a member of the

Metropolitan Club Metropolitan Club may refer to: *Metropolitan Club (New York City), a private social club in Manhattan, New York, United States * Metropolitan Club (San Francisco), a women's club in San Francisco, California, United States * Metropolitan Club (Was ...

, the Burning Tree Club and the Chevy Chase Club. He had cancer, but he died of a heart attack on October 20, 2008, at the

George Washington University Hospital The George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) is a short-stay hospital in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Since 2022, the hospital has been wholly owned and operated ...

. A memorial service was held later at

All Saints Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania * All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane, Queensland *All ...

. His ashes are currently held at All Saints Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, George M. Jr. 1927 births 2008 deaths People from Washington, D.C. Princeton University School of Architecture alumni Harvard Business School alumni American investment bankers People of the United States Agency for International Development St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni 20th-century American philanthropists