William Allen Schreyer (January 13, 1928 – January 22, 2011) was an American business executive who served as a chairman emeritus and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co.. He was also a philanthropist and served as former president of Pennsylvania State University's Board of Trustees.
Early life and education
William A. Schreyer was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on January 13, 1928. His father managed the local office of a stock brokerage that was later acquired by Merrill Lynch. As a high school student, Schreyer worked there part-time, tasked with writing the day’s stock prices on a chalkboard. Schreyer then attended Penn State, where he joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He graduated in 1948 with a degree in commerce and finance.
Career
Schreyer worked as a junior executive trainee at Merrill Lynch in Buffalo, New York, where he also met his wife Joan (née Legg). In the early 1950s he spent two years on active duty as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Germany in order to fulfill his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) obligations; this experience is purportedly when his interest in international financial markets began to emerge. he rose to Chairman, and then CEO, as the incumbent Roger E. Birk stepped down. As chief executive, Schreyer "reshaped the company and improved its profitability by slimming down some of its retail operations and building up its investment banking business".
In March 2007, Schreyer and his wife gifted $5 million toward Princeton HealthCare System's proposed Plainsboro Hospital to fund a state-of-the-art community and professional education center.
In August 2007, Schreyer donated $5 million to the education foundation of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, of which he is an alumnus.
William A. Schreyer died on the morning of January 22, 2011, after battling an undisclosed illness for some time. He is survived by his wife, his daughter DrueAnne Schreyer, his son-in-law Rodney Frazier, and two grandchildren.