Tributes are pouring in from securities services professionals following the death of GC Legend and long-time BNY Mellon collateral management expert, James Malgieri.
Inducted into the Global Custodian Hall of Fame in 2013, Malgieri was perhaps best known professionally for his 20 years at BNY Mellon – five initially with The Bank of New York prior to the merger with Mellon – where he filled a key collateral management role for the custodian.
Prior to this he had held roles with Chase Manhattan, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Cantor Fitzgerald.
Since leaving BNY Mellon in 2017, Malgieri had filled his time with board and strategic advisor roles at the likes of Pirum, Saphyre and Standard Custody & Trust Company.
“We lost a true friend yesterday,” said Philip Morgan, CEO of Pirum. “Jim was not only a huge inspiration to me and many others, but he also had a huge influence in designing and executing Pirum’s strategic vision over the last four years. He was a key industry leader who was greatly respected. We have lost a dear friend and mentor, someone we cared for dearly, he will be greatly missed.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim’s family, at this very sad time.”
Stephen Roche, president and co-founder of FinTech start-up, Saphyre, of which Malgieri was a board member, wrote in a LinkedIn post earlier this week: “One of our mentors James Malgieri who believed in our vision and invested in our FinTech idea from the very beginning, sadly passed away earlier today.”
“Jim had a stellar career spanning over 34 years within finance retiring last from BNY Mellon as he oversaw their Global Collateral Management & Segregation business for over 200 financial institutions.
“His guidance and wisdom during this endeavour was invaluable and he will be sorely missed by his extended family here at Saphyre. Our sincere condolences to Jim’s family and close friends. Prayers and thoughts are being sent to all.”
Michael Barrett, head of securities, and capital markets consulting at Wipro, also wrote: “Everyone at BNY wanted to work for Jim. He built the greatest team that Wall Street had ever seen, and the team which the markets needed from 9/11 and through the Great Financial Crisis following the demise of Lehman Bros. BNY (and I am leaving the M off here) brought the liquidity to the Street which enabled our capital markets to recover, and Jim drove and managed this, calmly when markets were terrified. Jim made his mark on our capital markets and he did more. He taught us all how honesty and integrity mean more than short term profits. God Speed Jim. I will miss you immensely.”
During his interview for his GC Legend profile back in 2013, Malgieri spoke of the importance of personal relationships in the business, despite the increasing importance of technology. It was clear from the comments regarding his passing that his commitment to personal relationships resonated with those he worked alongside and mentored.
“What hasn’t changed is the importance of personal relationships in the business,” he said at the time. “People say that technology takes the human interaction out of business, but I don’t sign up for that. I think a lot of business continues to be done with people you trust over the years in the business.”
To read Malgieri’s GC Legends profile click here.