Joseph J. Grano, Jr.

director

Joseph J. Grano, Jr. is the head of JJG Family Office. From 2001-2004, he  was Chairman of UBS Financial Services Inc. (formerly UBS PaineWebber). In addition to being one of the financial service industry’s leading executives, Mr. Grano is involved in a wide range of educational and philanthropic endeavors. In 2002, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. He relinquished his position in August 2005. 

Mr. Grano joined PaineWebber in 1988 as President of Retail Sales and Marketing, and became President of PaineWebber Group in 1994. As President, he oversaw a series of important and dramatic restructurings at the firm, including the acquisition of Kidder, Peabody in 1995 and J.C. Bradford in 2000. Finally, Mr. Grano was instrumental in helping to bring about the merger of PaineWebber with UBS in 2000, when Mr. Grano was appointed President and CEO of UBS PaineWebber and the following year was named Chairman and CEO.
 
Prior to joining PaineWebber, Mr. Grano was with Merrill Lynch for 16 years, holding various senior management positions including Director of National Sales. In 1987, he was named the industry’s best retail marketing executive in a survey conducted by Investment Dealers’ Digest. Mr. Grano was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the NASD and a member of  its Executive Committee.
 
Before joining Merrill Lynch, Mr. Grano served in the U.S. Special Forces (Green Berets). He became one of the Army’s youngest officers, achieving the rank of Captain. 
 
Mr. Grano holds Honorary Doctorate of Law degrees from Pepperdine University and Babson College as well as Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Queens College, City University of New York and Central Connecticut State University. In addition he holds an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of New Haven. Mr. Grano served as Vice Chairman of the Queens College Foundation Board of Trustees, and was on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater New York and on the Board of Lenox Hill Hospital. He is a member of the City University of New York’s Business Leadership Council and President of the Advisory Board for LEAD (Law Enforcement Against Drugs).
 
In 2012, Mr. Grano was honored at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation and he also received the Quiet Professional Award from the Green Beret Foundation for his patriotic contributions to our country. In 2004, Mr. Grano received the Sons of Italy Foundation National Education and Leadership Award. In October 2002 he received the Corporate Leadership Award from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund for his commitment to education. In 2000, he became the 39th recipient of the USO Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service, and was named Business Leader of the Year by Georgetown University’s School of Business. In 1998, he received the “La Bellissima America” award for his leadership role in preserving the heritage of Italian-Americans, and in 1996, Mr. Grano was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of distinguished contributions to our country.
 
Mr. Grano is the author of  “You Can’t Predict A Hero,” which was on BusinessWeek’s best seller list in 2009.
 

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