shape a future better, freer, more prosperous and more just than what has come before.
Robert Kelly, the Society’s 2010 Gold Medalist, is just such a leader. As the unfolding of the Great Recession has taken its toll on institutions and reputations, the nature and stature of Bob’s executive capabilities as chairman and CEO of BNY Mellon have become clearer than ever.
Amid some of the most tumultuous and perilous developments in the history of modern financial markets, Bob has kept his company on a steady course, maintaining and enhancing its position at the very top of the industry. Today, BNY Mellon has $24.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration; more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management; and services more than $12 trillion in outstanding debt.
A true global giant, BNY Mellon employs more than 49,000 people in 36 countries, has assets in excess of $240 billion, a market capitalization of $32 billion, and serves institutions and high-net worth individuals in more than 100 markets.
Under Bob Kelly’s leadership, BNY Mellon’s strength can be measured by more than the size of its assets or the scope of its interests. Just as significant has been the respect and admiration accorded by Industry observers and peers. In 2009, for example, at the same time that BNY Mellon was again ranked by Fortune magazine among America’s Most Admired Companies, the readers of Institutional Investor named Bob Kelly one of America’s Best CEOs.
Often enough in the past, the executive summits of certain industries and professions were deemed to be reserved for those who came from the “right” families, attended the “right” schools, had the “right” social connections. But Bob Kelly achieved his position, not through luck of birth, but by dint of talent, hard work and perseverance.
Prior to joining Mellon, he spent five years as Chief Financial Officer of Wachovia Corporation. Previously, he was with Toronto-Dominion Bank for almost two decades, where he rose to Vice Chairman. He was Chairman, President and Chief Financial OFficer of Mellon Financial Corporation until its merger with The Bank of New York Company, Inc.
In addition to his experience as a CFO, Bob has extensive background in retail brokerage, banking and securities trading. He is a chartered accountant and FCA with an MBA and an honorary doctorate from Cass Business School, City University in London and a bachelor’s degree and honorary doctorate from St. Mary’s University in Canada.
Along with the expertise, experience and insight that Bob Kelly has brought to his role at BNY Mellon is a commitment that goes beyond profit and loss as measured solely in dollars or Euros. He pinpointed that commitment in a recent interview in Irish America this way: “When I celebrate my heritage,” he said, “I’m celebrating my ancestors and the community that supported them.”
The commitment to community - to the well-being of all rather than the success of a few - grows out of Bob’s Irish roots and religious faith, and runs throughout his professional as well as personal life. Two years ago, with his guidance, BNY Mellon established its global Community Partnership Program to promote and support year-round employee team volunteering and fundraising. Since then, working through 1,110 employee teams, BNY Mellon employees have volunteered more than 45,000 hours in assisting 3,000 nonprofit organizations. To date, employee pledges and fundraising along with corporate contributions total more than $26 million.
In addition to his responsibilities as head of BNY Mellon, Bob is Chairman of the Financial Services Forum and President of the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Financial Services Roundtable and the Institute of International Finance and is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Partnership for New York City. He also serves on the Boards of Carnegie Mellon University and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and is Chancellor of St. Mary’s University.
Bob traces his roots to his great, great grandfather, Edward, who was born to William Kelly and Ann Connell in 1817 and eventually emigrated to Nova Scotia. And, as if the surname of Kelly (Ó Ceallaigh in Irish) wasn’t enough to confirm his ethnic origins, he also bears the name of Patrick and celebrates his birthday on the 17th of March.
The saga of Bob Kelly’s success is rooted in the values he shares with millions of other descendants of the Irish diaspora forced to seek opportunity and liberty outside their homeland. It is a story of family and faith, of hard work and individual merit, and of a commitment to service, community and the common good.
In choosing its 2010 Gold Medalist, and adding a new name to our distinguished roster of poets, prelates and presidents, the society deliberated long and hard. Here, at this turbulent, unsettled juncture, we sought a business leader whose life and career paid tribute to those generations of men and women who persevered in the face of defeat, poverty and discrimination, who never lost their faith in the future, and upon whom Yeats bestowed the eloquent and accurate encomium “the indomitable Irishry.” In Robert Kelly, we found that person.
-Peter Quinn
Robert P. Kelly
2010 Gold Medalist
Conviction in a Time of Turmoil
Robert Kelly’s Irish fore-bearers landed in Nova Scotia in 1806 and established commercial roots that still thrive in Halifax. His wife Rose’s family emigrated from Ireland to Nova Scotia in the 17th Century. Bon and Rose are the proud parents of a son, Brad, and a daughter, Elise.
We live in a time of disillusionment and retrenchment when W.B. Yeats’ grim assessment that “the best lack all conviction and the worst are filled with passionate intensity” seems to possess renewed currency. Yet, now was in Yeats’ day, despite widespread apprehension and uncertainty, there are leaders whose integrity, intelligence and involvement give us reason for hope.
These leaders serve in different professions and positions. They work in business, government, labor, academics and the arts. But, wherever they’re found, they serve to remind us that instead of being helpless pawns driven by the faceless, merciless forces of history, we have the power - as individuals and communities - to