Muriel
Siebert 
President, Muriel Siebert
& Company, Inc.
Muriel
"Mickie" Siebert is the founder and president of the national
discount brokerage firm that bears her name, Muriel Siebert
and Company, Inc. She established the firm in 1967 when
she became the first woman member of the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) and transformed it into a discount brokerage
house on May 1, 1975, the first day that NYSE members were
permitted under a new federal law to negotiate commissions.
Today, the New York City based firm has offices in Florida
and California, as well as a growing capital markets division.
Muriel Siebert and Company is [the only] women-owned NYSE
brokerage firm with a national presence in the U.S. Ms.
Siebert continues to oversee the firm's day-to-day operations.
Ms.
Siebert took a leave of absence from her firm in 1977 to
serve five years as the first woman Superintendent of Banking
for the State of New York under Governor Hugh Carey. Her
tenure coincided with a period of steadily rising interest
rates which jeopardized the stability of banks throughout
the country. Ms. Siebert was able to successfully prevent
any bank failures in New York by implementing a variety
of regulatory and other measures. She was also responsible
for restoring fiscal order to the Municipal Credit Union
(MCU), which serves all New York City employers. She resigned
from her post in 1982 to run for the Republican nomination
for the U.S. Senate, and polled second among three candidates.
Prior
to becoming a member of the NYSE in 1967, Ms. Siebert worked
for several different securities firms, including as a partner
with Fickle and Company and Brimberg and Company. She was
raised in Cleveland and attended Western Reserve University.
Although she did not receive her college degree, she has
received honorary doctorate degrees from ten colleges.
Throughout
her career, Ms. Siebert has been actively involved with
a wide range of non-profit, civic and women's organizations.
She is currently a member of the boards of Long Island University,
the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Business committee), the
New York State Business Council, the Guild Hall Museum and
the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
She is also active with several leading women's organizations,
including the National Women's Business Council, the Women's
Forum (founder and former President), the International
Women's Forum (Treasurer) and Deloitte & Touche's Council
for the Advancement of Women.
She
was the first woman to serve as a director of the Manhattan
Savings Bank and the first woman to chair the general campaign
of the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Ms. Siebert has served as a director and board member of
numerous other organizations.
Reflecting
her commitment to philanthropy and "giving back," Ms. Siebert
set up her own charitable program in 1990; the Siebert Entrepreneurial
Philanthropic Plan (SEPP). Through the program, every time
an issuer or institutional investor, like a corporation
or government agency, involves Muriel Siebert and Company,
Inc. in underwriting or purchasing a new-issue security,
half of the firm's commission revenue is donated to the
charity of their choice. Total contributions are over $4
million.
Ms.
Siebert has received countless awards and honors throughout
her career, including the first woman selected as the "one
who has made a difference" for the International Women's
Forum Hall of Fame. She was also elected to the National
Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York and the Ohio
Women's Hall of Fame. She was recently (June 1996) appointed
to the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination
for a 4-year term and is involved in the selection of an
Associate Judge for the Court of Appeals.
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