John A. Allison IV

John A. Allison IV
Born (1948-08-14) August 14, 1948
Charlotte, North Carolina
Alma mater University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A., 1971); Fuqua School of Business (MBA, 1974)
Occupation businessman
Employer Cato Institute (2012–present); BB&T (1971–2010)

John A. Allison IV (born August 14, 1948) is an American businessman and the former CEO and president of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.. Allison held a number of leadership positions in BB&T Corp. from 1987 until 2010 when he retired. He now serves as a director at Moelis & Company.

Early life and education

John Allison grew up outside Charlotte, North Carolina.[1] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in business administration in 1971.[2] He received a Master of Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business in 1974.[2]

Career at BB&T

Allison began his career with BB&T in 1971.[2] While CEO of BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust) in 2008, Allison earned a total compensation of $4,690,974, which included a base salary of $993,675, a cash bonus of $1,504,303, stocks granted of $995,089, and options granted of $973,800.[3] He retired at the end of 2008 as CEO of BB&T, handing over day to day control of operations to former COO, Kelly King, who assumed the CEO role on January 1, 2009. In 2008, Allison was nominated by Morningstar as one of the best CEOs of 2008.

Ideological activism

Allison is a major contributor to the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) and assigned Rand's Atlas Shrugged to all of his senior executives.[4] Calling Atlas Shrugged "the best defense of capitalism ever written", Allison has seen to it that "the BB&T Charitable Foundation has given 25 colleges and universities several million dollars to start programs devoted to the study of Rand's books and economic philosophy".[5][6]

In June 2012, he was designated to replace Ed Crane as CEO and president of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.[7]

Allison is a staunch opponent of the Federal Reserve, and emphasizes its role in business cycles.[8]

Allison penned the introduction to Why Businessmen Need Philosophy: The Capitalist's Guide to the Ideas Behind Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, published in 2011.[9] In September 2012, Allison released his own book, The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism is the World Economy’s Only Hope.[10] Reviews of the book were strong, albeit not by ideological opponents.[11][12] In October 2014, his second book, The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why the Future of Business Depends on the Return to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,[13] was published.

Awards

He received an honorary doctorate from East Carolina University and an honorary doctorate from Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala City, Guatemala.[14]

Positions served

He serves on the board of visitors of both the Fuqua School of Business and the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

References

  1. ↑ "Interview with John Allison". Kaizen. July 19, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 "Executive Profile: John A. Allison IV". Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
  3. ↑ 2008 CEO Compensation for John A. Allison IV, Equilar.com
  4. ↑ Andrew Martin, Give BB&T Liberty, but Not a Bailout, The New York Times, August 1, 2009
  5. ↑ "Ayn Rand Studies on Campus, Courtesy of BB&T," NPR News, by Clark Davis
  6. ↑ Martin Morse Wooster, Games Universities Play: And How Donors Can Avoid Them, Pope Center, September 12, 2011, p. 18
  7. ↑ Yadron, Danny (June 25, 2012). "Koch Brothers, Cato Institute Settle Dispute". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  8. ↑ http://bigthink.com/ideas/17844
  9. ↑ Debi Ghate; Richard E. Ralston (5 April 2011). Why Businessmen Need Philosophy: The Capitalist's Guide to the Ideas Behind Ayn Rand's AtlasShrugged. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-47913-1. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  10. ↑ John A. Allison (31 August 2012). The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism is the World Economy’s Only Hope. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-180678-7. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  11. ↑ Tammy, John (October 17, 2012). "Book Review: John Allison's The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure". Forbes.
  12. ↑ Gordon, David (November 7, 2012). "You Call That Austrian?". The Ludwig von Mises Institute Mises Daily Blog.
  13. ↑ John A. Allison (31 October 2014). The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why the Future of Business Depends on the Return to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0071831116. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  14. ↑ https://www.ufm.edu/index.php/Doctorados_Honoris_Causa

External links

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