John Griff
Chief Executive Officer
Cambridge Family Enterprise Group
John Griff is the Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Family Enterprise Group (CFEG) and serves on its board. A global organization created in 1989, CFEG is devoted to helping families and ownership groups navigate the new economy and achieve multigenerational success for their families, enterprises, and financial wealth. It is comprised of two divisions: Cambridge Advisors to Family Enterprise, a highly specialized, international advisory firm serving family enterprises, and Cambridge Institute for Family Enterprise, a leading education and research institute dedicated to the significant issues that family enterprises face.
Mr. Griff has spent more than 45 years as an executive on Wall Street, leading organizations and business units in the financial services sector, including investment banking and investment management firms, both domestic and international. He is known as a leader who builds championship organizations by driving company strategy, culture, and operations to transform businesses and business units into innovators in their industry.
Prior to joining CFEG, Mr. Griff held leadership positions in some of the financial sector’s most prominent firms. Most recently, he was President of Avalon Acquisition Corp, a SPAC. Formally, he was President of Manifold Partners (a quant hedge fund), COO of publicly held Gleacher & Company (a boutique investment bank), a member of the private equity implanted leadership team at LNR Property Corporation, and President of Putnam Lovell NBF (a boutique investment bank). He was simultaneously CEO of HSBC USA, Inc. (HSBC’s US-based investment banking business), and Co-Head of HSBC‘s Global Fixed Income business. Mr. Griff also served in senior roles at then NationsBanc Capital Markets (now Bank of America Securities), Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch. He presided over the post-Glass-Steagall build of the Investment Banking business at NationsBanc, and the transformation of HSBC’s US Investment Banking and Global Fixed Income businesses. At each of NationsBanc, HSBC, Putnam Lovell, and Gleacher, Mr. Griff established merchant banking businesses where he chaired the respective investment committees and served on the boards of most portfolio companies.
Mr. Griff has a vocation for mentorship and is in his 40th year as a student basketball coach, with the mission to affect social change through athletics. He is Co-founder and President of the nationally prominent New Jersey Panthers AAU Basketball program, which guides student-athletes to become global citizens and leaders in society. His consulting practice, Matrix Strategic Partners, advises college athletic directors and coaches in their efforts to build championship cultures.
Mr. Griff has a BS in Finance and Marketing from Fordham University. He is a former President of the Investment Association of New York, and a Co-founder of the Wall Street Charity Golf Classic.
