David H Komansky

Dave Komansky, the former longtime CEO of Merrill Lynch, who epitomized that largely forgotten part of Wall Street, died Monday September 27 2021 of natural causes. He was 82. Raised in a modest Bronx neighborhood not far from Yankee Stadium, Komansky eventually moved with his parents to Florida. While he kept his affection for the Yankees, he embraced life in the Sunshine State and attended the University of Miami School of Business. After a stint in the Coast Guard, he began his Merrill Lynch career in 1968, working as a $650-a-month salesman in the company's Forest Hills, N.Y., office. He rose through the ranks to become CEO of one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies from 1996 to 2002. omansky has also been involved in a variety of civic activities. In addition to serving on the School of Business Board of Overseers, he has served on the boards of the New York Stock Exchange, the American Museum of Natural History and the New York City Investment Fund, among others. In 2005, he and his wife, Phyllis, provided funding for the Komansky Center for Children's Health at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is a member of the board of directors of asset management, risk management and advisory company BlackRock Inc., and serves on the International Advisory Board of the British-American Business Council.