Stephen M Waters

Steve Waters has almost 40 years of experience providing international strategic and financial advice to corporations, institutional investors, sovereign governments and private families, and is also the General Partner of Compass investment vehicles. Mr. Waters established Compass Advisers as an independent advisory firm in August 2001. He co-founded Compass in 1996 and helped establish the Compass Partners European Equity Fund, a $917 million fund focused on Western Europe. This fund was the largest “first-time” fund ever raised for European investment at the time, and was a strong performer for its 1999 vintage. The fund’s team is currently creating follow-on investment vehicles, for which Mr. Waters will serve as a member of the General Partner. Mr. Waters served from 1992 to 1996 as co-Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley Europe and was a member of Morgan Stanley’s worldwide 12-person Operating Committee. During his tenure in Europe, the Firm’s revenues, market shares and profitability grew significantly. Mr. Waters joined Morgan Stanley as a Managing Director in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department in June 1988 and was co-Director of that department from January 1990 to mid-1992. Mr. Waters was co-Director of the Mergers and Acquisition Department at Shearson Lehman Brothers from 1985 to 1988, having co-founded that department in 1977 and become a Partner in 1980. Mr. Waters has worked on advisory assignments with a wide variety of multinational clients including American Motors, AT&T, Black & Decker, Cadbury Schweppes, Caterpillar, ChemChina, Diamond Shamrock, Duty Free International, Eastman Kodak, Eaton, Gucci, Hanson, KKR, LUKOIL, Nabisco, NationsBank, The Pritzker Family, Stop & Shop, Suez, Tanger Factory Outlets, Unilever and Westinghouse. Mr. Waters is the Non-Executive Chairman of Boston Private Financial Holdings, and a Director of Valero Energy Corp. He is former Chairman of the United States Naval Institute, the Harvard College Fund, and the Advisory Board of Boston University’s School of Public Health. Mr. Waters graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard College. He was a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School. Personal interests include the New York Yankees, international and military affairs and public school education.