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Peter J. Solomon

Peter Jay Solomon (born September 17, 1938) is an American investment banker and the founder and chairman of Solomon Partners, one of the country's first independent investment banks. He is also a former New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Policy and Development.

Early life and education

Solomon was born in Manhattan, New York, on September 17, 1938, to Sidney L. Solomon, the chairman of department store chain Abraham & Straus, and Jeannette (Rabinowitz) Solomon.[1][2] He attended the Collegiate School on New York's Upper West Side and graduated from Lawrenceville School, a private boarding school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.[3][1]

Solomon graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1960,[4][5] where he majored in government, and received a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1963.[1]

Career

Solomon began his career in the statistics department of Merrill Lynch in 1958.[6] He joined Lehman Brothers as an associate in the corporate finance department after graduating from business school in 1963. He became a managing director in 1971 and a member of the firm's board of directors in 1976.[7][8][9]

He also served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.[1]

Government activity

In 1978, Solomon was appointed Deputy Mayor for Economic Policy and Development by New York City mayor Edward I. Koch, a position he held until 1980.[6][10] He was Koch's principal advisor on taxes, ports, energy and private sector employment and commerce.[11]

As Deputy Mayor, Solomon led negotiations to host the 1980 Democratic National Convention.[12] He also encouraged the development of movie and television studios in New York City.[13]

As chairman of the Industrial & Commercial Incentive Board (ICIB), Solomon instituted reform to the real estate tax abatement system, restructuring the system to curb abuses and loopholes, while stimulating private real estate investment.[14] He also served as chairman of New York's Health and Hospital Corporation, managing 17 municipal hospitals.[15]

In 1980, Solomon was appointed Counselor to the United States Treasury Secretary under President Jimmy Carter, where he oversaw the President's auto task force and industrial policy.[16][17][18]

In 1981, Solomon returned to Lehman Brothers. He remained at Lehman and its successor, Shearson Lehman, until the end of the decade, becoming vice chairman of the firm, co-chair of the investment banking division and chairman of the merchant banking division.[19][20][21]

Peter J. Solomon Company

Solomon left Lehman in 1989 to found the Peter J. Solomon Company, a boutique financial advisory firm that was one of the first independent investment banks in the country.[22] The company advises public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure and restructuring.[23]

The Peter J. Solomon company's clients include Lands' End in its sale to Sears; Zagat, in its sale to Google and Office Depot and Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (PVH) via multiple acquisitions.[6][24] While the firm was known for its focus on consumer and media clients, it has expanded into a number of other sectors including energy, infrastructure, power, renewables, media, grocery and restaurants, among others.

In 2016, Natixis, the international investment banking arm of French financial institution Groupe BPCE, acquired a 51% majority stake in the company, which subsequently rebranded as PJ SOLOMON in 2019 and Solomon Partners in 2021.[25][26]

Cuomo Administration

In 2013, Solomon was appointed as the co-chairman of Governor Cuomo's Tax Reform and Fairness Commission, charged with proposing reforms to the state's tax code.[27] He also served on the Governor's Spending and Government Efficiency Commission, responsible for streamlining New York's agencies and bureaucracy.[28]

Other activities

Solomon is currently a director of Monro, Inc., an automotive service company, of which he was previously the chairman from 1984 to 2007.[4] He is a member of the Natixis International Advisory Network and the US Trust Bank of America Private Bank Advisory Committee. Previously, he served on a number of company boards, including:

  • Associated Dry Goods Corporation
  • BKF Capital Group, Inc.
  • Centennial Cellular Corporation
  • Century Communications Corp.
  • Culbro Corporation
  • Edison Brothers Stores, Inc.
  • Esquire, Inc.
  • Handyman Corporation
  • Lawfin International Limited
  • LIN Broadcasting Corporation
  • The Miller-Wohl Company
  • Office Depot, Inc.
  • Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation
  • The Stop & Shop Companies, Inc.
  • Zagat Survey LLC

Personal life

Solomon is married to the former Susan Rebell.[29] They have five children and twelve grandchildren.[9]

He is an experienced beekeeper and donated a large gift to build an insectarium bearing his name at the American Museum of Natural History.[6][30] The Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium at the American Museum of Natural History opened in May 2023 in the Museum's Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. The Insectarium is a new gallery devoted to Earth's most diverse animal group with 18 live species of insects and features a large-scale, interactive model of a beehive.

Charitable contributions

Solomon's personal foundation was established in 1987.[31] He is a board member of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,[32] Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases and Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. He is also a member of the Board of Overseers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.[33] Solomon is a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, Co-chair Emeritus with his wife of the American Friends of the Musée d'Orsay, Chairman Emeritus and director of The Manhattan Theatre Club and a trustee of the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation.

At Harvard University, Solomon donated his collection of important children's literature and illustrations to Houghton Library. He and his wife were the primary financial contributors to the renovation of Houghton. In his honor, Harvard built a new Gate to Harvard Yard, naming it the Peter J. Solomon, Class of 1960, Gate.[34] Solomon is Chairman of the Friends of the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard.[35] He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[33] Previously, he was an overseer of Harvard University.[33][36]

Solomon previously served on a number of not-for-profit boards, including:

  • Chairman, Hudson Guild Neighborhood House
  • Vice Chair, Mt. Sinai Hospital
  • Director-at-Large, Montana Land Reliance
  • Director, American Rivers
  • Director, National Audubon Society

References

  1. Pranay Gupte. Deputy Mayor for Economics The New York Times, May 9, 1978, retrieved July 15, 2019^
  2. Isadore Barmash. Sidney L. Solomon Dead at 73; Abraham & Straus Chairman The New York Times, September 26, 1975, retrieved July 27, 2019^
  3. Peter Solomon. Wasting Time Constructively Pink House, LLC, 2019^
  4. MNRO Company Profile & Executives - Monro Inc. - Wall Street Journal quotes.wsj.com, retrieved 2019-07-26^
  5. Kaitlin Buckley. A new vision for Houghton Library The Harvard Gazette, January 15, 2019, retrieved July 17, 2019^
  6. American Museum of Natural History - Homepage retrieved 2023-06-06^
  7. New Merger Chief Named at Shearson The New York Times, July 26, 1984, retrieved July 26, 2019^
  8. Robert J. Cole. 7 Partners Relinquish Posts On Lehman Brothers Board The New York Times, September 30, 1976, retrieved July 27, 2019^
  9. PETER SOLOMON, "WASTING TIME CONSTRUCTIVELY" IN CONVERSATION WITH JAMES D. ZIRIN BookHampton, retrieved July 26, 2019^
  10. Principals Affected by Shake‐Up in Koch Administration The New York Times, August 3, 1979, retrieved July 26, 2019^
  11. Marilyn Rubin. A Guide to New York State Taxes 2011^
  12. Maurice Carroll. '80 Convention Contract Delayed by Some Snags The New York Times, June 30, 1979, retrieved July 21, 2019^
  13. Jonathan Soffer. Ed Koch and the Rebuilding of New York City Columbia University Press, 2010^
  14. James F. Sterba. City, Citing Economic Upswing, to Take Closer Look At Midtown Commercial Buildings' Tax Abatements The New York Times, July 16, 1978, retrieved July 26, 2019^
  15. Pranay Gupte. Solomon Saw India's Potential Early On The Sun, March 3, 2006, retrieved July 27, 2019^
  16. Clyde Haberman. Solomon Leaving City Hall for U.S. Job The New York Times, June 18, 1980, retrieved July 27, 2019^
  17. Koch Announces Choice For Deputy Mayor's Post The New York Times, September 5, 1980, retrieved July 27, 2019^
  18. Edward Cowan. Carter to Stress Existing Policies In Industry Plan The New York Times, August 8, 1980, retrieved July 27, 2019^
  19. Veteran Bankers in Health Care Join Peter J. Solomon New York Times, March 19, 2009, retrieved July 27, 2019^
  20. Lane Named President of Shearson LA Times, February 26, 1987, retrieved July 25, 2019^
  21. New Position for Solomon The New York Times, May 5, 1988, retrieved July 26, 2019^
  22. David Gelles. The Psychiatrist of Finance The Financial Times, December 16, 2012, retrieved July 2, 2019^
  23. Lauren Weber. Retail's merger mania Newsday, March 6, 2005, retrieved July 25, 2019^
  24. Andria Cheng. RadioShack reportedly has hired investment bank Peter J. Solomon MarketWatch, July 22, 2013, retrieved August 1, 2019^
  25. Michael de la Merced. Natixis Acquires 51% Stake in Peter J. Solomon Co. The New York Times, February 10, 2016, retrieved July 31, 2019^
  26. PJ Solomon Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Corporate Rebrand PJ Solomon, January 22, 2019, retrieved July 30, 2019^
  27. Thomas Kaplan. Cuomo Names Commissioners to Tax-Reform Panel The New York Times, December 11, 2012, retrieved July 22, 2019^
  28. Governor Cuomo Announces Members of SAGE Commission to Modernize and Right-Size State Government New York State, April 19, 2011, retrieved July 29, 2019^
  29. WEDDINGS: Susan B. Rebell, Peter J. Solomon The New York Times, April 28, 1996, retrieved August 2, 2019^
  30. American Museum of Natural History breaks ground on $383 million, 230,000 s/f Richard Gilder Center New York Real Estate Journal, July 16, 2019, retrieved July 20, 2019^
  31. Peter and Susan Solomon Family Foundation GuideStar, retrieved July 29, 2019^
  32. Peter J. Solomon: Philanthropy Profile Patron View, retrieved 25 March 2026^
  33. Peter and Susan Solomon Inside Philanthropy, retrieved July 16, 2019^
  34. New gate outside Houghton Library adds another story to storied Harvard Yard The Harvard Gazette, retrieved December 14, 2020^
  35. Friends and Donors: Peter J Solomon Harvard Center for Jewish Studies^
  36. Happy Birthday, Peter J. Solomon! CJS News, April 2019^