Joseph J. Grano, Jr.
Business
Joseph Grano is currently Chairman and CEO of Centurion Holdings LLC, a company that advises private and public companies. From 2001-2004, Mr. Grano was Chairman of UBS Financial Services Inc. (formerly UBS PaineWebber).
Mr. Grano joined PaineWebber in February 1988 as President of Retail Sales and Marketing, and became President of PaineWebber Group in December 1994. As President, he oversaw a series of important and dramatic restructurings at the firm, including the acquisition of Kidder, Peabody in 1995 and J.C. Bradford in 2000. Finally, Joe Grano was instrumental in helping to bring about the merger of PaineWebber with UBS in 2000, when Mr. Grano was named President & CEO of UBS PaineWebber and the following year was named Chairman & CEO.
Prior to joining PaineWebber, Mr. Grano was with Merrill Lynch for 16 years, holding various senior management positions including Director of National Sales. In 1987, he was named the industry’s best retail marketing executive in a survey conducted by Investment Dealers’ Digest. Mr. Grano was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the NASD and a member of the NASD’s Executive Committee. He also ran a Vermont ski resort, Mt. Ascutney, which eventually went bankrupt. "I don't even want to think about it," he says.
Military service
Before joining Merrill Lynch, Mr. Grano served in the U.S. Special Forces (Green Berets). He became one of the Army’s youngest officers, achieving the rank of Captain.
Homeland Security Advisory Council
In 2002, Mr. Grano was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. He relinquished his position in August 2005.
Honorary Degrees
Mr. Grano holds Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Pepperdine University and Babson College as well as Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Queens College, City University of New York and Central Connecticut State University. In addition he holds an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of New Haven. On May 19, 2007, Grano gave the commencement address at Central Connecticut State University.
Philanthropic & Community Service
Mr. Grano served as Vice Chairman of the Queens College Foundation Board of Trustees, and was on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater New York and on the Board of Lenox Hill Hospital. He is a member of the Council for the United States and Italy, a member of the City University of New York’s Business Leadership Council and a former member of the National Board of D.A.R.E.
Awards
In October 2002, Mr. Grano received the Corporate Leadership Award from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund for his commitment to education. In 2000, he became the 39th recipient of the USO Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service, and was named Business Leader of the Year by Georgetown University’s School of Business. In 1998 he received the “La Bellissima America” award for his leadership role in preserving the heritage of Italian-Americans, and in 1996, Mr. Grano was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of distinguished contributions to our country.