Zoe Cruz
Born
Zoe Papadimitriou

(1955-02-02) February 2, 1955 (age 69)
Greece
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationHarvard Business School
OccupationBusiness executive
Known forFormer banking executive at Morgan Stanley
SpouseErnesto Cruz (div. 2014)[1]
Children3

Zoe Cruz (born Zoe Papadimitriou on February 2, 1955) is a Greek American senior banking executive and former co-president of Morgan Stanley. Currently, she serves as Founder and CEO of Menai Financial Group.[2]

Early life and education

Cruz was born Zoe Papadimitriou in Greece. At the age of 14, she and her parents moved to Massachusetts, United States. She graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude with a B.A. in Romance Languages & Literatures in 1977 and earned a MBA from Harvard Business School in 1982.[3]

Cruz is fluent in Greek, English, Spanish and French.[4]

Career

In 1982, after graduating from business school and becoming a mother, Cruz was recruited by Morgan Stanley and had a 25-year tenure at the firm. She became a vice president in 1986, a Principal in 1988, and a managing director in 1990. From 2000 to 2005, she held the position of global Head of Fixed Income, Commodities and Foreign Exchange. She was appointed co-president on February 9, 2006.

In 2006, she was on the list of Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women of the World and ranked in the #10 spot.[5]

On November 29, 2007, Morgan Stanley announced that Cruz was resigning as co-president of the firm and that she would retire immediately.[6][7]

Following Morgan Stanley, Cruz was on the board of trustees for the Harlem Children’s Zone, a nonprofit providing education and social service programs for children in New York. She also served on the Harvard College Dean’s Council, the board of directors for the Lincoln Center and as a full committee member for New York-Presbyterian Hospital.[8][9][10]

Cruz also sat on the advisory board at Ondra Partners, an independent financial advisory firm founded in 2008.[11]

In 2009, Cruz started hedge fund Vorás Capital Management, a macro, and credit fund. The firm was converted into EOZ Global, a single family office that invests in startups, in 2012.[12] EOZ Global’s holdings span a number of industries, including biotech and manufacturing.[13]

Cruz was appointed as a member of the Bowdoin College Investment Committee in 2012 and remains on the committee today.[14]

In January 2014, Cruz, long dubbed "Cruz Missile," joined the Board of Anglo-South African financial behemoth Old Mutual as an independent non-executive director.[15][16] She sat on its board of directors through 2018.[citation needed]

From 2016 to 2017, she was a senior advisor to regulatory consulting firm Promontory Financial Group LLC.[13]

Cruz was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business and Government in 2016 and still serves on the council today.[17]

Cruz was on the board of directors of Ripple from 2017 to 2019.[18]

In 2018, Cruz was appointed a non-executive director and member of Man Group’s Board and Remuneration Committee, and she maintains these positions with the company to date.[19]

In 2020, Cruz founded Menai Financial Group, a firm that provides institutional-grade investment products, market making services and infrastructure for the digital asset space.[2]

Accolades

In 2015, Cruz was named one of Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women in Business”,[20] and was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a businesswoman “In Line to Lead.”[21] She was named one of Forbes’ “Most Powerful Women” in 2005, 2006 and 2007.[22][23][24] Cruz was named as the highest paid woman by Fortune in 2006, with total compensation of $30 million. In 2007, she was recognized as one of The Wall Street Journal’s “50 Women to Watch in Business,”[25] one of Fortune’s “6 CEOs to Be”[26] and “Power 50”,[27] and one of American Banker’s “Most Powerful Women’s in Finance.”[28] She has also been named one of Crain’s New York’s “Most Powerful Women.”[29]

References

  1. ^ Stephen Jacob Smith (April 13, 2014). "Zoe Cruz Drowns Her Sorrows in a $7.34 M. Fifth Avenue Co-op". Observer.
  2. ^ a b "Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitstamp Sees Two Top Lawyers Depart". Bloomberg Law. 2021-04-21.
  3. ^ "Zoe Cruz Senior Advisor at Promontory Financial Group". VB Profiles. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "Sentient Technologies Media Kit". kipdf.com. p. 8. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  5. ^ "#10 Zoe Cruz". Forbes. August 31, 2006.
  6. ^ The New York Times: Morgan Stanley Ousts Cruz; Is More Pain Ahead? (November 30, 2007)
  7. ^ Roose, Kevin (2014). Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits. London, UK: John Murray (Publishers), An Hachette UK Company. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-47361-161-0.
  8. ^ Chandler, Michele (15 May 2010). "Zoe Cruz: Being Shoved Out of Your Comfort Zone Has Advantages". Stanford Business. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  9. ^ Caring for Our Community 2004-2005 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). New York-Presbyterian Hospital. 2004–2005. p. 42. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  10. ^ Letters from Home 2006-2007 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). New York-Presbyterian Hospital. 2006–2007. p. 48. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  11. ^ Mychasuk, Emiliya (15 October 2010). "Revivalist Bankers". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  12. ^ Kishan, Saijel (9 May 2019). "Zoe Cruz Said to Liquidate Hedge Fund Voras Capital". Bloomberg. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  13. ^ a b Krouse, Sarah (25 May 2018). "Once a Force on Wall Street, Zoe Cruz Moves to the Cryptocurrency World". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Man Group appoints Zoe Cruz as Non-Executive Director". www.man.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
  15. ^ Costello, Miles The Times: "Glass ceiling is wiped out as Cruz missile hits Old Mutual; 7 January 7, 2014.
  16. ^ Old Mutual Old Mutual official website; accessed 10 Oct 2017.
  17. ^ "Advisory Council". www.hks.harvard.edu. Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  18. ^ Brian Patrick Eha (December 19, 2017). "Ripple adds Morgan Stanley veteran to board of directors". American Banker.
  19. ^ "Man Group appoints Zoe Cruz as Non-Executive Director". www.man.com. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business 2005". Fortune. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  21. ^ "In Line to Lead". The Wall Street Journal. 31 October 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Zoe Cruz Joins Ripple's Board of Directors". Ripple. 19 December 2017. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  23. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. 26 July 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  24. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes.com. August 31, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  25. ^ "The 50 Women to Watch 2007". The Wall Street Journal Online. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  26. ^ Sellers, Patricia (2007). "6 CEOs-to-be". Fortune. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  27. ^ Katie Benner; Eugenia Levenson; Rupali Arora (2007). "The Power 50". Fortune. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  28. ^ "The Most Powerful Women in Finance for 2007". American Banker. 2 October 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Crain's New York Business. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
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