Blair Effron
Blair Effron | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 (age 61–62) Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Princeton University (AB) Columbia University (MBA) |
| Known for | Co-Founder of Centerview Partners |
| Political party | Democratic |
Blair W. Effron (born 1962) is an American financier. Effron co-founded Centerview Partners, a leading global investment banking firm based in New York City.[1][2] Centerview has offices in London, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and San Francisco. The firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, valuation, and capital structure to companies, institutions and governments.
Effron is also active in
Early life
Effron grew up in a Jewish family in
Career
Effron began his career in investment banking in the early 1980s and built up a reputation as one of the leading bankers in the
- General Electric's sale of $200B of financial assets.
- Time Warner Cable on its $79 billion merger with Charter Communications.
- 21st Century Fox on $71.3 billion transactions with The Walt Disney Company.
- Kraft Foods Group, Inc.on its $58 billion merger with Heinz
- InBev's $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch
- GE on the $32 billion combination of its oil & gas business with Baker Hughes.
- H. J. Heinz Company's $28 billion sale to an investor consortium consisting of 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway
- Lorillard's $27.4 billion sale to Reynolds American
- Bestfoods
- PepsiCo's $21 billion acquisition of The Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas
- GE's $18 billion sale of remaining 49% interest in NBCUniversal to Comcast
- GE's $13.5 billion pending acquisition of Alstom.
- Pillsbury to General Mills
- The Hillshire Brands Company $8.6 billion sale to Tyson Foods.
- Diageo's $8 billion purchase of Seagram's wine and spirits business
- News Corporation's $6 billion acquisition of Dow Jones
- PepsiCo's $5.4 billion acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods
- NewsCorp's separation of the company into 21st Century Fox and NewsCorp.
In July 2006, Effron co-founded Centerview Partners along with Robert Pruzan, formerly CEO of North America at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and President of Wasserstein Perella & Co. Additional Centerview co-founders included Stephen Crawford, former co-president at Morgan Stanley, and Adam Chinn, a former partner at Wachtell Lipton.[7] James M. Kilts, former CEO of Gillette, heads the firm's private equity fund.[8]
Other affiliations
Effron serves on the board of trustees of the Council on Foreign Relations (Vice-Chairman), Lincoln Center (Treasurer), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Visions for Public Schools, Partnership for New York City, and Princeton University. He also sits on the advisory board of The Hamilton Project[9] at the Brookings Institution.
Active in the Democratic party, Effron was a prominent supporter of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and an active supporter of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.[3] He also hosted Obama at his Upper East Side Manhattan home in May 2014 and Hillary Clinton in June 2015.[10] Effron contributes political and business commentary to outlets including the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg and other publications.[11][12][13][14][15] In August 2022, Effron was appointed by President Joe Biden as a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.[16] He is a supporter of Joe Biden’s 2024 presidential reelection effort, stating on Bloomberg TV that the Biden presidency has produced economic “steadiness, good growth and markets at an all-time high”[17] and on CNBC stating “the Administration has done a strong job getting legislation to help the economy."[18]
References
- ^ "Boutique Bank That's Riding Out the Storm". The New York Times. February 29, 2008.
- ^ "For Boutiques, Time to Shop as Bankers Flee Big Firms". The Wall Street Journal. February 5, 2009.
- ^ a b "Joe Biden picks up support from influential Wall Street fundraisers Marc Lasry and Blair Effron, who backed Obama and Clinton". CNBC. December 19, 2019.
- ^ "Effron Center for the Study of America established at Princeton through a major gift to the Venture Forward campaign". Princeton University. November 15, 2021.
- ^ Promislo, Susan (June 8, 2016). "Princeton: Seven named to Princeton Board of Trustees". Princeton University.
- ISBN 9780060536350.
- ^ Three Senior Wall Street Professionals Announce Formation of Centerview Partners PR Newswire.
- ^ "Conagra to buy Pinnacle for $8.1 billion, creating frozen food powerhouse". Reuters. June 27, 2018.
- ^ "Blair W. Effron | The Hamilton Project". www.hamiltonproject.org. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ "Obama to attend investment bankers' fund-raiser". The New York Times. May 14, 2014.
- ^ Pipeline for Deals, January 20, 2024, retrieved February 15, 2024
- ^ "You'll see mergers & acquisitions be much better in 2024, says Centerview Partners' Blair Effron". CNBC. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ "How a Democrat-led House of Representatives could boost US growth". Financial Times. January 3, 2019.
- ^ "Tighter times mean tougher corporate choices". Financial Times. June 16, 2020.
- ^ Effron, Blair (August 9, 2022). "There are reasons to be optimistic about the US economy". Financial Times. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions". The White House. August 26, 2022.
- ^ Effron: Economy Under Biden is Underappreciated, January 20, 2024, retrieved February 11, 2024
- ^ "The U.S. economy is really becoming the envy of the world, says Centerview Partners' Blair Effron". CNBC. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
External links
- Centerview Benefits from Wall St.'s Pivot to Smaller Banks, by David Gelles. The New York Times
- The Deal Makers behind 2015 ‘s Biggest Tie Ups Dana Mattioli, Dana Cimilucca, Shayndi Raice The Wall Street Journal
- How to Foster Long-Term Innovation Investment, Center for American Progress, Co-authored by Blair Effron
- Centerview Partners’ relationship care brings blockbuster deals, from the Financial Times
- Rubin to Join Centerview, a Young Firm. The New York Times, August 12, 2010
- The Case for an Employer Tax Break. The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009
- Murdoch Chose Advisers Versed In Family Firms. The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2007