Robert A. Bernhard

Robert Arthur Bernhard (March 14, 1928 – July 4, 2019)[1] was an American banker best known as the last Lehman Brothers descendant to serve as partner of the firm.[2]

Robert A. Bernhard
Born
Robert Arthur Bernhard

(1928-03-14)March 14, 1928
New York City
DiedJuly 4, 2019(2019-07-04) (aged 91)
Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationWilliams College (BA/BS)
Harvard University (MBA)
TitleFormer Partner of Lehman Brothers and Salomon Brothers
Board member ofMontefiore Medical Center, Congregation Emanu-El of New York, Lincoln Center Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cooper Union
Spouses
  • Frances Wells
  • Joan Mack Sommerfield
Children4
Parent(s)Richard Jaques Bernhard
Dorothy Lehman Bernhard
FamilyAdele Lewisohn Lehman (grandmother)

Life and career

Bernhard was born in 1928 to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Richard Jaques Bernhard and Dorothy Lehman Bernhard.[1] He graduated from Williams College in 1951 and the Harvard School of Business in 1953.[3]

Bernhard joined Lehman Brothers in 1953, and became General Partner in 1962. At Lehman Brothers, Bernhard was Head of Investment Management Division and served on the Boards of the Lehman Corporation and the One William Street Fund.[3] Bernhard left Lehman Brothers in 1972, becoming a partner at Salomon Brothers in 1974 until its merger with Phibro in 1981.[4]

In 1981, he opened his own firm, Bernhard & Associates.[5] In 1990 it merged with Orson Munn & Company to create Munn, Bernhard & Associates (MB Investment Partners). In 1997 he became a partner of McFarland Dewey & Company.[6][3]

Bernhard is a Life Trustee of Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, New York City, after having previously served as its president.[7][3] He also serves on the boards of the Montefiore Medical Center and its Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is a Trustee of the Lincoln Center Institute.[3] He was a Director of Medscape LLC and, from 1993 to 2011, of Stone Energy Corporation.[3]

Cooper Union

Bernhard was chairman of the board of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art from 1995 to 2004 and served on the board of trustees from 1975 until 2016. He was responsible for choosing George Campbell Jr. as successor to John Jay Iselin as president of the school.[8]

A friend of Jerry Speyer, Bernhard was involved in the Tishman Speyer bid to take over management of the Chrysler Building, the land under which is Cooper Union's biggest asset, by agreeing to Tishman's proposal for a new lease for the building.[9]

Personal life

In 1949, he married Frances Wells; they had 4 children: Adele, Michael, Susan, Steven. In 1970, he married Joan Mack Sommerfield.[10] He died in Greenwich, Connecticut on July 4, 2019.[11]

References
  1. Rosenberg, Jennifer Jewish Women's Archive: "Dorothy Lehman Bernhard (1903 – 1969)". Retrieved January 28, 2017
  2. Brostoff, Marissa (September 18, 2008). "The Lehmans? They've moved on. Sad? A little". The Forward. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  3. "Robert A. Bernhard: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. 15 June 2023.
  4. Arenson, Karen (August 5, 1981). "Merger of Salomon Impresses Analysts". The New York Times.
  5. Glaberson, William (October 11, 1987). "Life After Salomon Brothers". The New York Times.
  6. "Robert A. Bernhard". Cooper Union.
  7. "Staff" Temple Emanu-El website
  8. Holloway, Lynette (November 18, 1999). "Cooper Union Picks Physicist as First Black President". The New York Times.
  9. Pogrebin, Robin & Bagli, Charles (June 2, 2004). "New York's Cultural Power Brokers; Mixing the Real Estate Business and Everyone's Pleasure". The New York Times.
  10. "Mrs. Joan Sommerfield Is Wed In Suburbs to Robert Bernhard". New York Times. August 2, 1970. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  11. "Robert Bernhard Obituary". The New York Times. July 7, 2019.
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