Richard A. Debs

Former President, Morgan Stanley International; Former COO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Richard A. Debs is an Advisory Director of Morgan Stanley, having been the founding President of Morgan Stanley International, joining Morgan Stanley in 1976 to develop the investment bank’s international business, now a major part of its global activities. Previously, Dr. Debs served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he was also an Alternate Member of the Federal Open Market Committee. He is also Chair of the International Council of the Bretton Woods Committee.

Dr. Debs graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University in 1952 and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton where he was a Ford Foundation Fellow. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School as well as the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Dr. Debs was Fulbright Scholar in Egypt, where he subsequently held a joint Harvard-Princeton research fellowship.

Dr. Debs is chairman emeritus of the American University of Beirut and now chairs the universities Advisory Council. He is also Chairman Emeritus of Carnegie Hall, where he continues to serve as a trustee member of the Executive Committee, and a trustee of the Carnegie for International Peace, the Institute of International Education, the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, the Barenboim Said Foundation. He is a chair of the Columbia University Middle East Institute, and has served on visiting committees of Princeton and Harvard. His recent book “Islamic Law and Civil Code” was published by Columbia University Press and the American University in Cairo. Among other awards, he has received decorations from the governments of Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.