Jacob (J) M. Weinstein
Advisor

Jacob (“J”) M. Weinstein is the Deputy Director of the Program on International Financial Systems at Harvard Law School.  He has served as advisor to the Committee since its inception in the fall of 2006.

Previously, J was a capital markets and corporate governance advisor in emerging markets throughout the world. His assignments ranged from assisting in the development of the Financial and Capital Markets Commission of Latvia to advising the Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Markets Development Authority of Fiji on attracting equity listings to the South Pacific Stock Exchange.

In addition, he advised governments and securities exchanges in Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Republic of Georgia, Kazakhstan and South Africa.

At the beginning of his career, J was an attorney on the staff of the Superintendent of Banks of the State of New York, Muriel Siebert. While at the Banking Department, he drafted one of the nation’s first “Truth in Savings” regulations.

After three years at the Banking Department, J practiced law in the private sector. He was associated with the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher. At Willkie, J concentrated in banking, securities and corporate law. He was part of the team that advised American Express on its acquisition of Edmond Safra’s international banking network.

During the buoyant equity markets of the 1980’s, J joined the Investment Banking Department of PaineWebber. He specialized in underwriting the shares of mutual savings banks converting to public companies.

Following his career at PaineWebber, J joined the New York-based mergers & acquisitions (M&A) operation of The Industrial Bank of Japan (IBJ). (That M&A operation was eventually incorporated into a separate firm, The Bridgeford Group.) In the early 1990’s, J lived in Tokyo and was the liaison between the managing directors of IBJ and the professionals of the Bridgeford Group.

In 1996 after returning from Romania, J co-authored a book published by McGraw-Hill, Poised for Growth, a reference guide for managers of "growth companies".