William A Schreyer

William A. Schreyer is chairman emeritus of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., a company he led as CEO from 1984 to 1993. Rising from a high school part-timer marking stock prices on the office chalkboard to chairman of the board, he guided the legendary “Thundering Herd” during its glory years of ascendancy to the top of the global capital markets. Devoted to his alma mater, Pennsylvania State University, he and his wife Joan endowed its Schreyer Honors College, which has become a model for honors education among public universities. He previously served as president of the university’s Board of Trustees. His lifelong commitment to the Catholic Church has included service as a senior financial adviser to the Vatican, and his deep interest in public policy and international relations has contributed greatly to the ongoing work of CSIS. Schreyer, who made his home in Princeton, N.J., is survived by his wife, Joan, who was named an honorary alumna of Penn State in 1991; their daughter, DrueAnne Schreyer, and her husband, Rodney G. Frazier; and two grandchildren, Kelly and Charles.