The 2015 Commencement Keynote Speaker is D-E alumnus Michael S. Klein '81, the managing partner of M. Klein and Company LLC, an independent financial and strategic advisor to companies, investors, and governments.  Mr. Klein's reputation as a leader in financial services and strategic adviser was built during his 23-year career at Citi and its predecessors. After serving as the Head of Investment Banking at Salomon Smith Barney and leading the acquisition of Schroders PLC, Mr. Klein became CEO of all of Citi’s institutional clients businesses, which had aggregate revenues of approximately $20 billion and 65,000 employees.

During his tenure, Mr. Klein was instrumental in building Citi’s investment bank into a successful, respected global franchise. He held leadership roles managing the global corporate, institutional and transaction banking businesses as well as the international portfolio of operations.  Mr. Klein was also responsible for all of Citi’s advisory as well as debt and equity underwriting businesses, providing thoughtful, innovative strategic advice. He drove Citi’s relationships with all of the world’s leading companies, governments, sovereign wealth funds, and private investors. In addition, he established a unique practice that developed close and active relationships with the leading global private equity and venture capital firms.

 

After leaving Citi in 2008, Mr. Klein served as independent advisor to entities impacted by the financial crisis. He served as a private advisor to the United Kingdom in their response to the financial market crisis. He helped lead the working group tasked with drafting and implementing the UK’s Bank Recapitalization Program, which became a framework for other governments. Mr. Klein also served as the advisor to Barclays PLC regarding its acquisition of Lehman Brothers at the onset of the financial crisis. Since founding M. Klein and Company, the firm has become a leading independent strategic and M&A advisor. Some of the publicly announced transactions Mr. Klein has been involved with include serving as an advisor to both companies during the successful $80 Billion Euro Merger of Xstrata PLC and Glencore; and advising the governments of Dubai and Ireland on the restructurings of Dubai World and the Bank of Ireland.

 

Mr. Klein is a member of many boards, both nationally and internationally, including Dow Chemical Company; TBG Limited; The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; The Peterson Institute for International Economics; Mount Sinai Medical Center; and The United Nations Investment Committee. He is also a founding member of the Harvard Global Advisory Board, and a Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations. Mr. Klein has served as a guest lecturer at Columbia, Harvard, the London Business School, and the St. Petersburg University. He has participated in many educational programs arranged by the US government, including the Federal Reserve and the Securities & Exchange Commission.  

Mr. Klein is also on the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) Investment Advisory Committee. In 2007, he was an instrumental leader in launching the World Food Programme’s Emergency Network, a groundbreaking partnership between the WFP and the private sector. The WFP is the United Nations’ logistics coordinator in times of disaster. It is also the world’s largest humanitarian agency dedicated to fighting hunger. Last year, the WFP reached 80 million people with food assistance in over 82 countries. To meet their objectives to fight hunger in disaster situations, the WFP has developed expertise in a range of areas including Food Security Analysis, Nutrition, Food Procurement and Logistics. The WFP Emergency Network targets where disasters may strike next and works to prevent them, or otherwise minimize their impact to people on the ground—typically the poorest of the poor. 

Mr. Klein is a graduate of the Dwight-Englewood School Class of 1981. He then attended and graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He will be joined at Sunday's Commencement Ceremony by members of his family, including his brother Mark Klein '80, a fellow D-E alumnus and alumna sister Rachel Klein '87.   

James Lord ESB ’40 (posthumous)
The epitome of a renaissance man, James Lord was the author and essayist for myriad pieces, including the novel No Traveler Returns (1956); the biographies A Giacometti Portrait (1965) and Picasso and Dora: A Personal Memoir (1993); and A Gift for Admiration (1998). He was also an actor and screenwriter for several productions including Augustin (1995) and Paris Brothel (2003). James served as a translator in the US Army’s Military Intelligence Service during WWII, 1941-1944. In recognition of his contribution to French culture, James was made an officer of the Legion of Honor. He passed away on August 23, 2009, in Paris, France.

Lawrence (“Larry”) Kudlow is a critically acclaimed economist, author, television commentator, and newspaper columnist. In addition to being a senior contributor to CNBC, Larry is the radio host of the nationally-syndicated “The Larry Kudlow Show” as well as a contributing editor of National Review magazine and a columnist/editor for National Review Online. He is also the CEO of Kudlow & Co., LLC, an economic research firm. Books authored by Larry include Bullish on Bush: How George Bush’s Ownership Society Will Make America Stronger (2004) and American Abundance: The New Economic and Moral Prosperity (1998). His other professional accomplishments and honors include the Commitment Award from St. Patrick’s Church of Redding, CT; the Bishop’s Humanitarian Award from the Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens; and the Distinguished Communicator Award from the Brooklyn Diocese. He is the recipient of two Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees (Monmouth University, 2009 and University of Rochester, 2013). Larry also serves on the Board of Directors of the Taiwan Fund Inc., and the Catholic Cluster School of the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT, among other organizations. He is a former Fordham University Board of Trustees member. Larry is a graduate of the University of Rochester (1969) and he attended Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

One of Wall Street’s highest-ranking female executives, Lisa Landau Carnoy is a senior executive at U.S. Trust, and a member of the Global Wealth and Investment Management Operating Committee and New York City Market President for Bank of America (BOA). Her prior experience includes serving as Head of Global Capital Markets for Bank of America Merrill Lynch (2010-2014) and Head of Equity Capital Markets for Merrill Lynch (2004-2009). Lisa is the co-founder and executive sponsor for the BOA Women’s Leadership Council and a member of the Global Wealth and Investment Management Women’s Exchange Advisory Council. She is a recipient of the Columbia University John Jay Award (2007) and was on American Banker’s list of “Most Powerful Women in Finance” in 2012 and 2013. Lisa serves on the Board of Trustees for Columbia University (Chair of the Alumni Affairs and Development Committee) and is a large supporter of Jumpstart, a national nonprofit focused on children’s literacy. She is a graduate of Columbia University (1989) and Harvard University (1994).

Frank Sparrow ESB ’48, Bruce Black ESB ’72, Frederic Black ’75, and Deborah Rebell ’90 will also be honored during the Awards Ceremony, with induction into D-E’s Athletic Hall of Fame. The D-E Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1996 to honor those individuals who have achieved a high level of success during their careers as student athletes and coaches, or through significant contributions to the school’s athletic program. Its purpose is to perpetuate the memory of those who have brought distinction and excellence to the Dwight School, the Englewood School for Boys, and the Dwight-Englewood School.

Frank Sparrow earned 12 Varsity Letters in Football, Basketball, and Baseball from 1944-1948. He was the recipient of the Luke Ward Trophy in 1948, which is awarded to a Senior or Junior scholar athlete who is outstanding in athletics and displays sportsmanlike qualities. Frank served as Captain of the Varsity Football and Varsity Basketball Teams in 1947 and 1948, and the Varsity Baseball Team Captain from 1946-1948. He is a 1952 graduate of Princeton University, for which he played Varsity Football from 1949-1950 and was in the same backfield as 1950 Heisman Trophy winner Dick Kazmaier, during which time that team won the coveted Lambert Trophy. For nearly 35 years Frank worked as a general practice and emergency medicine physician. He also served as a US Air Force fighter pilot attaining the ranking of Captain in the Korean War, from 1951-1961.

Bruce Black earned eight Varsity Letters in Cross Country and Track from 1968-1972. He was the recipient of the Umps and Dux Award (1970) and the Balakian Sportade Award (1971) and he was named Most Valuable Runner by the ESB Cross Country Team in 1970 and 1971. In 1971 he was the only Bergen County runner to complete the season undefeated, and he achieved record-breaking times in the Cross Country Class B State Championships and was the ESB course record holder with a mile time of 4:29. That same year Bruce was awarded an Honorable Mention in The Bergen Evening Record All-County Cross Country Team.

Frederic (“Rick”) Black earned 10 Varsity Letters in Cross Country and Track from 1970-1975. He was named a Cross Country State Champion in 1973 and received the Balakian Sportade Award in 1974. He was also a member of the undefeated State Champion Cross Country Team in 1973. While attending D-E, Rick succeeded in establishing a new record time of 4:27 for the fastest mile. He is also D-E’s all-time record holder—#1 for 1600 meters and #7 for 800 meters.

Deborah (“Debbie”) Rebell earned eight Varsity Letters in Soccer and Lacrosse from 1986-1990. She was named to the All-State First Team Soccer Team in 1988 and 1989. She was also a member of the D-E Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team when it played in the State Championships in 1989 and 1990. Debbie received an Honorable Mention with the All American Lacrosse Team in 1989 and was named to the First Team All-State Lacrosse Team in 1989 and 1990. Debbie is a 1994 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, for which she played on the Varsity Lacrosse Team from 1991-1993.