Robert K. Steel

Kennedy School, 2004–06

From February 2004 to September 2006, Steel was a senior fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He co-taught "Current Issues in U.S. Financial Markets Regulation." He received an award from the university president for excellence in teaching. He also co-authored an op-ed in The Washington Post entitled "For Retirees, A Day of Reckoning."

SeaChange Capital Partners, 2004–06

In 2004, Steel and another former partner at Goldman Sachs, Charles T. Harris III, founded SeaChange Capital Partners, a nonprofit organization that arranges transformational funding for nonprofit organizations. It collaborates with wealthy individuals and family foundations and pools together their funds to provide significant unrestricted, multi-year support for these organizations. In so doing, SeaChange is employing many private sector strategies in raising capital for nonprofit organizations. In February 2010, Business Week profiled SeaChange in a "Second Acts" column.

Aspen Institute, 2006, 2008–present

In 2006, Steel was named chairman of the board of the Aspen Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes values-based leadership and provides neutral venues for discussing and acting on critical issues. He first assumed the position in 2006, but took a leave of absence during his service as Under Secretary of the Treasury. He returned to the role in 2008, succeeding William E. Mayer. In this role, Steel oversees development of the Aspen Global Leaders Network, which provides leadership training to leaders under 40.

Goldman Sachs, 1976–2004

Steel spent nearly 30 years at Goldman Sachs, rising to vice chair of the firm. He joined the Chicago office in 1976 and served as that office's co-head of institutional sales. In 1987, he transferred to London, where he founded the Equity Capital Markets Group for Europe. At the time, Europe was privatizing major state-owned enterprises, like telecom, utility and energy interests, to transition to more market-driven economies. Steel was extensively involved in the privatization and capital-raising efforts for European corporations and governments. In 1988, he became partner in the firm. He later became head of Goldman Sachs Equities for Europe. In 1994, he relocated to New York and served as co-head of the Goldman Sachs Equities Division from 1996 to 2002 until his appointment as a vice chair of the firm. Upon his retirement from Goldman Sachs on February 1, 2004, he became advisory director and then senior director in December 2004.

Barclays Bank, 2005–06

From June 1, 2005, to October 11, 2006, Steel served on the board of directors of Barclays Plc. In 2005 he helped settle a conflict between Barclays' commercial and investment divisions over who would serve a newly purchased South African bank. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson later said of Steel: "He's very good at smoothing over conflicts; and when there's tensions, bringing the temperature down."

Wachovia/Wells Fargo, 2008–2010

On July 9, 2008, Steel was named president and CEO of Wachovia. Although Steel's predecessor, G. Kennedy Thompson had been criticized for exposing the firm to high-risk mortgages, Steel hoped to put the company on firm footing until it failed in the Fall 2008 crisis. He bought one million shares of Wachovia stock on the open market and bought a house in Charlotte. He also turned down a bonus he was due to receive.

Steel was adamant that Wachovia would stay independent. However, by September 2008, market conditions had deteriorated severely. On September 26, Wachovia lost almost one percent of its deposits, leading regulators to force Wachovia to put itself up for sale. After an initial deal with Citigroup for $1/share, Steel and the Wachovia board accepted an offer to merge with Wells Fargo for $7/share. (Wells Fargo would be purchasing 100% of Wachovia; the Citi deal would have resulted in Wachovia shedding its commercial banking arm while retaining Wachovia Securities and Evergreen Investments. This merger was more than the 100th merger in Wachovia's history. The arrangement made Wells Fargo the second-largest retail brokerage in the United States.

In January 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating claims Steel made about the future of the bank before it started talks about a potential merger.

Following the merger, Steel was invited to join the board of Wells Fargo and served on the firm's credit and finance committees. In 2010, upon being appointed Deputy Mayor for Economic Development of New York City, Steel resigned his seat on the Wells Fargo board.

The second of three boys, Steel grew up in Durham, North Carolina, attending public schools near Duke University, his future college. He was a Boy Scout and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. His late father, Charles Steel, III, was a life insurance agent and his mother, Elizabeth, was a homemaker.

He received his undergraduate degree from Duke in 1973, majoring in history and political science. He received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago in 1984.

Steel lives in New York, NY; he is married to Gillian Steel and they have three daughters. He enjoys hiking, skiing and golfing.