James Wolfensohn

Biography

 James (Jim) D. Wolfensohn is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Wolfensohn & Company, L.L.C. Mr. Wolfensohn also serves as an Advisor to Senior Management on Global Strategy and International Matters at Citigroup Inc. Mr. Wolfensohn is the President at International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was employed at Salomon Brothers Inc., BT Wolfensohn as the President and Chief Executive Officer and at Schroders plc. Mr. Wolfensohn was the ninth President of the World Bank Group since 1995. On May 31, 2005, at the end of his second term, he left office and assumed the post of Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement for the Quartet on the Middle East, a position Mr. Wolfensohn served until April 30, 2006. Mr. Wolfensohn was the third President in the World Bank’s history to be reappointed for a second five-year term by the Board of Executive Directors. Mr. Wolfensohn led successfully initiatives on debt reduction, environmental sustainability, anti corruption programs, AIDS prevention, and treatment. He developed activities on religion and culture and decentralized offices overseas linked by the most modern telecommunications system in the international community. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Wolfensohn was an international investment banker. His last position was as the President and Chief Executive Officer of James D. Wolfensohn, Inc. He relinquished his interests in the firm upon joining the World Bank. Before attending Harvard, Mr. Wolfensohn was a lawyer at Allen, Allen & Hemsley. He served as an Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, and was a member of the 1956 Australian Olympic Fencing Team. Before setting up his own company, Mr. Wolfensohn held a series of senior positions in finance. He was an Executive Partner of Salomon Brothers in New York and Head of its Investment Banking Department. He was an Executive Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Schroders Ltd., President of J. Henry Schroders Banking Corporation, and Managing Director of Darling & Co. Throughout his career, Mr. Wolfensohn has also closely involved himself in a wide range of cultural and voluntary activities, especially in the performing arts. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University for the last 18 years. In 1970, Mr. Wolfensohn became involved in New York’s Carnegie Hall, first as a Board Member and later, from 1980 to 1991, as the Chairman of the Board, during which time he led its successful effort to restore the landmark New York building. Mr. Wolfensohn is the Chairman at Wolfensohn Partners, L.P. and Citigroup International Advisory Board; an Honorary Trustee at The Brookings Institution; and Chairman Emeriti at The Carnegie Hall Corporation. He was the Chairman at The World Bank Group. Mr. Wolfensohn is also the Chairman of the advisory group of the Wolfensohn Center and Chairman Emeritus of Carnegie Hall. In 1990, he became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. On January 1, 1996, Mr. Wolfensohn was elected Chairman Emeritus. He serves as a Trustee at Carnegie Corporation of New York. He has been the President of the International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies, Director of the Business Council for Sustainable Development and served as a Director of the Rockefeller Foundation and of the Population Council, and as a Member of the Board of Rockefeller University. Mr. Wolfensohn is an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution, a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Century Association in New York. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the American Philosophical Society. Mr. Wolfensohn has been the recipient of many awards for his volunteer work, including the first David Rockefeller Prize of the Museum of Modern Art in New York for his work for culture and the arts. In May 1995, he was awarded an Honorary Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the arts. Mr. Wolfensohn has also been decorated by the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Japan, Germany, Georgia, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Pakistan and Russia. He holds a B.A. and an LL.B. degree from the University of Sydney and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.  

Research Interest

 Business & Management