John A. Allison IV

John A. Allison IV (born August 14, 1948) is an American businessman and the former CEO and president of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. Allison held a number of leadership positions in BB&T Corp. from 1987 until 2010 when he retired. He now serves as a director at Moelis & Company.

John Allison
Allison in 2016
Born (1948-08-14) August 14, 1948
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA)
Duke University (MBA)
Employer(s)BB&T (1971–2010)
Cato Institute (2012–2015)[1]
Objectivist movement
Photo of Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Philosophy
Organizations
Theorists

Ayn Rand Institute

Other
Literature
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
For the New Intellectual
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
The New Left
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Philosophy: Who Needs It
The Romantic Manifesto
The Virtue of Selfishness
Objectivist periodicals
The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies
The Fountainhead
Atlas Shrugged
Related topics

Early life and education

John Allison grew up outside Charlotte, North Carolina.[2] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in business administration in 1971.[3] He received a Master of Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business in 1974.[3]

Career at BB&T

Allison began his career with BB&T in 1971.[3] While CEO of BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust) in 2008, Allison earned a total compensation of $4,690,974, which included a base salary of $993,675, a cash bonus of $1,504,303, stocks granted of $995,089, and options granted of $973,800.[4] He retired at the end of 2008 as CEO of BB&T, handing over day to day control of operations to former COO, Kelly King, who assumed the CEO role on January 1, 2009. In 2008, Allison was nominated by Morningstar as one of the best CEOs of 2008.

Ideological activism

Allison is a major contributor to the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) and assigned Rand's Atlas Shrugged to all of his senior executives.[5] Calling Atlas Shrugged "the best defense of capitalism ever written", Allison has seen to it that "the BB&T Charitable Foundation has given 25 colleges and universities several million dollars to start programs devoted to the study of Rand's books and economic philosophy".[6][7]

In June 2012, he was designated to replace Ed Crane as CEO and president of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.[8] He retired from Cato at the end of March 2015.[1] He currently serves on the board of directors at Cato Institute.

Allison is a staunch opponent of the Federal Reserve,[9] and emphasizes its role in business cycles.[10]

Allison penned the introduction to Why Businessmen Need Philosophy: The Capitalist's Guide to the Ideas Behind Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, published in 2011.[11] In September 2012, Allison released his own book, The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism is the World Economy's Only Hope.[12] Reviews of the book were strong, albeit not by ideological opponents.[13][14] In October 2014, his second book, The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why the Future of Business Depends on the Return to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,[15] was published.

Awards

He received an honorary doctorate from East Carolina University, Mercer University, and an honorary doctorate from Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala City, Guatemala.[16]

Positions served

He serves on the board of visitors of the Fuqua School of Business, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Korkkuss-Neggins Business School, and the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

References
  1. "Cato Institute Announces New CEO". Cato Institute. March 30, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  2. "Interview with John Allison". Kaizen. July 19, 2011. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  3. "Executive Profile: John A. Allison IV". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012.
  4. 2008 CEO Compensation for John A. Allison IV Archived 2009-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, Equilar.com
  5. Andrew Martin, Give BB&T Liberty, but Not a Bailout, The New York Times, August 1, 2009
  6. "Ayn Rand Studies on Campus, Courtesy of BB&T," NPR News, by Clark Davis
  7. Martin Morse Wooster, Games Universities Play: And How Donors Can Avoid Them Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, Pope Center, September 12, 2011, p. 18
  8. Yadron, Danny (June 25, 2012). "Koch Brothers, Cato Institute Settle Dispute". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  9. Stewart, James (July 14, 2017). "Tough Times For Disciples Of Ayn Rand". New York Times. Gale General OneFile. p. B1(L). Mr. Allison has called for abolishing the Federal Reserve, while acknowledging that so drastic a step is unlikely. He has met with Mr. Trump at the White House and has been widely mentioned as a potential successor to Janet L. Yellen as Fed chief.
  10. "Ideas Are Immortal". 27 June 2013.
  11. Debi Ghate; Richard E. Ralston (2011). Why Businessmen Need Philosophy: The Capitalist's Guide to the Ideas Behind Ayn Rand's AtlasShrugged. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-47913-1. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  12. John A. Allison (2012). The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism is the World Economy's Only Hope. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-180678-7. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  13. Tammy, John (October 17, 2012). "Book Review: John Allison's The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure". Forbes.
  14. Gordon, David (November 7, 2012). "You Call That Austrian?". The Ludwig von Mises Institute Mises Daily Blog.
  15. John A. Allison (2014). The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why the Future of Business Depends on the Return to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0071831116. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  16. "Doctorados Honoris Causa".
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