University of Scranton Alumnus Honored at President’s Business Council Award Dinner

The University’s President’s Business Council (PBC) 14^th Annual Award Dinner will be held on Thursday, Oct. 8, at The Pierre Hotel in New York City. At this year’s dinner, the President’s Medal will be presented to Francis J. Pearn ’83, P’16, managing director and chief administrative officer of global compliance at JPMorgan Chase and Co.

Pearn graduated from the University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He joined Pricewaterhouse in New York City after graduation and went on to earn his licensure as a certified public accountant (CPA). He moved to J.P. Morgan in 1990. During the next 10 years with the firm, he held a number of financial management positions including three years as the controller and head of operations of the Milan, Italy, branch. Upon his return from Italy, he served as the chief financial officer of the institutional equities business and was a member of the division’s management committee.

In 2001, Pearn joined Banc of America Securities, a subsidiary of Bank of America. Over a five-year period with Banc of America Securities, he held several leadership positions including chief operations officer for the corporate and investment bank and global markets divisions, chief financial officer for the investment banking division, and a member of the management operating committee. Prior to rejoining JPMorgan Chase and Co., Pearn was the chief administrative officer of the mergers and acquisitions division of Lehman Brothers and the chief financial officer of the global equities division at Barclays Capital.

Pearn returned to JPMorgan Chase and Co. in 2009 as the chief financial officer of global investment banking and sales and was responsible for the effective financial and risk management of the mergers and acquisitions and capital markets origination businesses located in the major financial markets of the world. He relocated to London for two years as the chief financial officer for banking, risk and the global corporate bank and chief financial officer for JPMorgan Europe, Middle East and Africa. During his tenure in London, Pearn oversaw the relocation of 8,000 employees into the company’s new European headquarters in the Canary Wharf section.

A native of Pearl River, New York, Pearn completed his nine-year tenure as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees in May. He and his wife, Suzanne, reside in Garden City, New York. They have four children: Matthew, Stephen, Brian (a member of the University’s class of 2016) and Jordan. Pearn’s brother, James, is a University alumnus of the class of 1978.

In presenting the President’s Medal, the University and the PBC recognize an honoree’s excellence in their field and extraordinary compassion for others. The proceeds from the Annual Award Dinner go directly to the University’s Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund. The black-tie gala celebrates Scranton and honorees whose lifetime achievements reflect the University’s mission of Catholic and Jesuit excellence and service. Through its 13 dinners, the PBC has generated $11 million for the scholarship fund.

The fundraising goal for this year’s dinner is $1.1 million. The formal kickoff for this year’s gala was held on June 4 at the PBC Executive Forum held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City with keynote remarks provided by Rana Foroohar, assistant managing editor of Time magazine and columnist for “The Curious Capitalist” and a global economic analyst for CNN.

The co-chairs for the Oct. 8 dinner are Paul K. Stimpfl ’83, executive vice president at Wells Fargo Capital Finance in Santa Monica, California, and Kristen Sarisky Williams ’92, global head of campus recruiting at Blackstone in New York City. Online registrations can be made at www.regonline.com/PBCDinner2015.

For more information on ways to participate in this year’s dinner, please contact Timothy J. Pryle ’89, executive director, at 570-941-5837 or pbc@scranton.edu, or visit www.scranton.edu/pbcdinner.