Peter S. Kraus, MBA ‘76 Joins Professor Anthony Marciano for a Conversation at NYU Stern

Peter S. Kraus, MBA ‘76, Chairman and CEO of AllianceBernstein Holdings, joined nearly 150 NYU Stern alumni, students, and faculty for a conversation with Professor Anthony Marciano as part of the C-Suite Series hosted by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.  Dean Henry kicked off the evening by welcoming the full house and expressed Stern’s pride for Mr. Kraus’s dynamic and successful career.

Professor Marciano and Mr. Kraus discussed the financial pressures of the late 1980s and early 1990s, tracing patterns through the market over time. Mr. Kraus shared an insider’s take on the mood during the 2008 financial crisis and the learnings that came of it. “To have a front row seat during that crisis was nothing short of fantastic,” he said, recognizing the uniqueness of the sentiment. His approach in the wake of crisis came from an intrinsic willingness to figure it out, to dig into the balance sheet and understand how best to move forward.

As incoming CEO of AllianceBernstein in December 2008, Mr. Kraus explained that his first step was to get to know his staff in order to optimize their placement and performance. He talked about AB’s philosophy toward fee structure, and how he explored the consistency (or lack thereof) among large-cap managers and the differing incentive models for asset management.  A series of excellent questions from alumni in attendance sparked deeper dives into issues of regulation, alternative managers, asset allocation, the current tax landscape, and E.T.F.s, to name a few.

A cocktail reception followed with the audience eager to continue the conversation and reflect on Mr. Kraus’s perspective. See highlights from the evening.




Peter S. Kraus, MBA '76
Peter Kraus, MBA '76, was elected Chairman of the Board of AllianceBernstein Corporation, the General Partner of AB, and Chief Executive Officer of AB in December 2008. Kraus has in-depth experience in the financial markets, including investment banking, asset management and private-wealth management. He served as an executive vice president, the head of global strategy and a member of the Management Committee of Merrill Lynch Company Inc. from September through December 2008. Kraus spent 22 years with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (“Goldman”), where he most recently served as co-head of the Investment Management Division and a member of the Management Committee, as well as head of firmwide strategy and chairman of the Strategy Committee. Kraus also served as co-head of the Financial Institutions Group. He was named a partner at Goldman in 1994 and managing director in 1996. Kraus holds a BA from Trinity College and an MBA from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business.