We are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2018 JDRF One Promise Gala Living and Giving Award

 F. William “Bill” McNabb III
Chairman and CEO, Vanguard

Bill McNabb is the chairman and CEO of Vanguard, the world’s largest mutual fund company, into which 20 million plus clients entrust a collective $4.7 trillion in assets under management.

Mr. McNabb assumed the role of CEO just two weeks before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which marked the beginning of the financial crisis that wreaked havoc on markets around the world. In the decade that Mr. McNabb has been at the helm, Vanguard assets more than quadrupled, growing from $1 trillion in 2008 to $4.7 trillion today. For the past 8 years, Vanguard has led the industry in cash flow, with more than $20 billion flowing into the firm each month in 2016 and 2017. Despite this impressive cash-flow record, Mr. McNabb can often be heard reminding Vanguard crew that cash flow is never a goal. Rather, it is an outcome of doing the right thing by putting client interests at the forefront of everything Vanguard does and is a reminder of the humbling responsibility the firm has for its clients’ financial goals and dreams.

Mr. McNabb’s ability to deftly navigate Vanguard, its crew [employees], and its clients through one of the most economically tumultuous periods in the nation’s history and then go on to take the industry lead in cash flow, open offices around the globe, and dramatically expand the firm’s personal advice offerings are a few of the reasons he’s been called “master of the index-fund world”[1]  and one of the nine most influential people on Wall Street.[2] He landed on Fortune Magazine’s “Top 10 business people of the year” list in 2012, and Smart Money magazine’s “Power 30” for 2011. And he was hailed as “calm under fire” during the depths of the global financial crisis, as the financial markets reeled. [3]

The 60-year-old joined Vanguard in June 1986. He was named vice president of marketing services in 1989, took on all institutional sales activity in 1991, and was named head of Vanguard’s Institutional Investor Group in 1995. Mr. McNabb is only the third CEO in Vanguard’s 42-year history, after founder John C. Bogle and Jack Brennan. If you trace Vanguard’s history back to Wellington Management, Vanguard’s predecessor firm, which was founded in Philadelphia in 1929, Mr. McNabb is only the fourth chief executive in 87 years [Walter Morgan, CEO of Wellington, 1929–1970; Mr. Bogle, CEO of Wellington, 1970–1974.]

Just four CEOs in 88 years bears witness to the stability of the company and the quality of its senior leadership team and crew. One of Mr. McNabb’s signature contributions to the firm is a focus on developing high-performing teams. A fan of the sport of rowing, Mr. McNabb likens rowing to the ultimate team sport: You can be in an eight-person boat filled with individual superstars, but if you’re not rowing together, you’re not going to go anywhere and might even end up in the water. He and his senior leadership team are high-performing individuals, yet what they create together is better than the sum of their parts: They’re a high-performing team with the singular, shared goal of helping everyday investors have a secure financial future.

In addition to leading Vanguard, Mr. McNabb serves as chairman of the board of the Philadelphia Zoo, and he’s an active alumnus of Dartmouth College and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He recently completed a three-year term as chairman of the Investment Company Institute (the mutual fund industry’s trade group).

When he’s not working, Mr. McNabb enjoys rowing, cycling, and spending time with his wife, Katie, and their four children and three grandchildren.

For additional information about partnering with JDRF for the 2018 One Promise Gala, please visit here for our sponsorship opportunities.

 Seating is limited for the 2018 One Promise Gala taking place April 21, 2018. To reserve your tickets now, please visit here.

[1] The Wall Street Journal. WSJ.Money, March 8, 2013.

[2] Bloomberg Businessweek. “Fifty most influential,” Sept. 22, 2016.

[3] “Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb is calm under fire,” by Julie Segal. Institutional Investor, Sept. 10, 2009.