Carla Harris
Vice Chairman, Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley; Author; Singer
SPEAKER FEE RANGE: $50,000–$50,000 [FEE NOTE]
TRAVELS FROM: New York
RELATED TOPICS: Achievement & Performance, Black Speakers, Business Author, Business Growth & Change, CEO & Executive, Communication & Negotiation, Corporate Culture & Employee Engagement, Finance, Humanitarian & Philanthropy, Inspiring Personal Stories, Leadership Management, Professional Development, Stress & Life Balance, Women in Business
Carla Harris is a Vice Chairman, Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She formerly headed the Emerging Manager Platform, the equity capital markets effort for the consumer and retail industries and was responsible for Equity Private Placements. In August 2013, Carla Harris was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. Carla has been named to many prestigious lists including Fortune Magazine’s list of The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America and The Most Influential list, U. S. Bankers Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business, to Black Enterprise Magazine’s Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street, and to Essence Magazine’s list of The 50 Women Who are Shaping the World.
Carla Harris is a Vice Chairman, Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She is responsible for increasing client connectivity and penetration to enhance revenue generation across the firm. She formerly headed the Emerging Manager Platform, the equity capital markets effort for the consumer and retail industries and was responsible for Equity Private Placements. Ms. Harris has extensive industry experiences in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial, and healthcare sectors. In August 2013, Carla Harris was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council.
For more than a decade, Ms. Harris was a senior member of the equity syndicate desk and executed such transactions as initial public offerings for UPS, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Ariba, Redback, the General Motors sub-IPO of Delphi Automotive, and the $3.2 Billion common stock transaction for Immunex Corporation, one of the largest biotechnology common stock transaction in U.S. history. Ms. Harris was recently named to Fortune Magazine’s list of U. S. Bankers Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance (2009, 2010, 2011), Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business (2010), to Black Enterprise Magazine’s Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street (2006 – 2011), and to Essence Magazine’s list of The 50 Women Who are Shaping the World, Ebony’s list of the Power 100 and 15 Corporate Women at the Top and was named Woman of the Year 2004 by the Harvard Black Men’s Forum and in 2011 by the Yale Black Men’s Forum.
Ms. Harris began her career with Morgan Stanley in the Mergers & Acquisitions department in 1987. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Carla received from Harvard Business School an MBA, Second Year Honors and an AB in economics from Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude. Carla has also received Honorary Doctorates of Laws, Humanities and Business from Marymount Manhattan College, Bloomfield College, Jacksonville University, Simmons College, the College of New Rochelle, St. Thomas Aquinas College and Fisk University respectively. Carla Harris is actively involved in her community and heartily believes that “we are blessed so that we can be a blessing to someone else.”
She is the immediate past Chair of the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and sits on the boards of the Food Bank for NYC, The Executive Leadership Council, The Toigo Foundation, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), A Better Chance, Inc, Mt. Sinai and St. Vincent’s Hospitals, Xavier University, and is an active member of the St. Charles Gospelites of the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and the Mark Howell Singers. Ms. Harris is co-chair of the National Social Action Commission of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and was a member of the Board of Overseers’ Committee on University Resources, Harvard University. She has received the Bert King Award from the Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association, the 2005 Women’s Professional Achievement Award from Harvard University, the Pierre Toussaint Medallion from the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, the Women of Power Award given by the National Urban League, the Women of Influence Award from The Links, Incorporated and many other awards. In her other life.
Carla’s passion lies in helping others. As she says, “we are blessed, so that we can be a blessing to others.” While climbing the corporate ladder, Carla had her own personal missteps amidst numerous victories. She vowed that when she reached senior management and people came to her for advice, she would provide them with the tools, strategies, and pearls of wisdom honed by her own experience.
“Carla’s Pearls” have become the centerpiece for her many speeches and television appearances. In Expect to Win, Carla shares these valuable lessons. She is the author of Strategize to Win and of Expect to Win (2009).
In her other life, Carla is an accomplished singer, and has released her third gospel CD “Unceasing Praise” (2011) , her second CD, a gospel album titled, Joy Is Waiting, was featured on BET Nightly News while her first CD entitled, Carla’s First Christmas, was a bestseller on Amazon.com in New York and in record stores, and was featured on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in his American Dream segment.
Carla has delighted audiences around the world with her soulful renditions of new and old gospel favorites. Starting young with a love of singing, she quickly migrated towards choral music and gospel choirs at age 13. While at Harvard, Carla continued to pursue her music, singing with the world-renowned Radcliffe Chorale Society, the oldest women’s singing group at Harvard, and in her own band Rhythm Company. She has performed four sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and released several albums Carla’s First Christmas, Joy is Waiting, Unceasing Praise.
For more than a decade, Ms. Harris was a senior member of the equity syndicate desk and executed such transactions as initial public offerings for UPS, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Ariba, Redback, the General Motors sub-IPO of Delphi Automotive, and the $3.2 Billion common stock transaction for Immunex Corporation, one of the largest biotechnology common stock transaction in U.S. history. Ms. Harris was recently named to Fortune Magazine’s list of U. S. Bankers Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance (2009, 2010, 2011), Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business (2010), to Black Enterprise Magazine’s Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street (2006 – 2011), and to Essence Magazine’s list of The 50 Women Who are Shaping the World, Ebony’s list of the Power 100 and 15 Corporate Women at the Top and was named Woman of the Year 2004 by the Harvard Black Men’s Forum and in 2011 by the Yale Black Men’s Forum.
Ms. Harris began her career with Morgan Stanley in the Mergers & Acquisitions department in 1987. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Carla received from Harvard Business School an MBA, Second Year Honors and an AB in economics from Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude. Carla has also received Honorary Doctorates of Laws, Humanities and Business from Marymount Manhattan College, Bloomfield College, Jacksonville University, Simmons College, the College of New Rochelle, St. Thomas Aquinas College and Fisk University respectively. Carla Harris is actively involved in her community and heartily believes that “we are blessed so that we can be a blessing to someone else.”
She is the immediate past Chair of the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and sits on the boards of the Food Bank for NYC, The Executive Leadership Council, The Toigo Foundation, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), A Better Chance, Inc, Mt. Sinai and St. Vincent’s Hospitals, Xavier University, and is an active member of the St. Charles Gospelites of the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and the Mark Howell Singers. Ms. Harris is co-chair of the National Social Action Commission of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and was a member of the Board of Overseers’ Committee on University Resources, Harvard University. She has received the Bert King Award from the Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association, the 2005 Women’s Professional Achievement Award from Harvard University, the Pierre Toussaint Medallion from the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, the Women of Power Award given by the National Urban League, the Women of Influence Award from The Links, Incorporated and many other awards. In her other life.
Carla’s passion lies in helping others. As she says, “we are blessed, so that we can be a blessing to others.” While climbing the corporate ladder, Carla had her own personal missteps amidst numerous victories. She vowed that when she reached senior management and people came to her for advice, she would provide them with the tools, strategies, and pearls of wisdom honed by her own experience.
“Carla’s Pearls” have become the centerpiece for her many speeches and television appearances. In Expect to Win, Carla shares these valuable lessons. She is the author of Strategize to Win and of Expect to Win (2009).
In her other life, Carla is an accomplished singer, and has released her third gospel CD “Unceasing Praise” (2011) , her second CD, a gospel album titled, Joy Is Waiting, was featured on BET Nightly News while her first CD entitled, Carla’s First Christmas, was a bestseller on Amazon.com in New York and in record stores, and was featured on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in his American Dream segment.
Carla has delighted audiences around the world with her soulful renditions of new and old gospel favorites. Starting young with a love of singing, she quickly migrated towards choral music and gospel choirs at age 13. While at Harvard, Carla continued to pursue her music, singing with the world-renowned Radcliffe Chorale Society, the oldest women’s singing group at Harvard, and in her own band Rhythm Company. She has performed four sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and released several albums Carla’s First Christmas, Joy is Waiting, Unceasing Praise.
- Intentional Leadership
In past decades, particularly in “producer cultures,” professionals were given positions of leadership and authority because they were great “producers.” The top trader, the banker that posted the most revenues or the lawyer that had the most billable hours were compensated with money, an elevated title and positions of leadership without much thought as to whether the person was the kind of individual that could motivate and inspire others to perform beyond their own expectations. Yet, today, we find ourselves in an environment where a growing majority of the professional workforce are Millennials and Generation Z’ers who demand motivation and inspiration as table stakes for their performance in any environment. So the question is, “what does it take to be an outstanding leader in today’s environment?” Harris asserts that if anyone chooses to take on the leadership seat, then one must be INTENTIONAL about 8 things in order to be a more impactful leader today: Authenticity, Building Trust, Clarity, Creating other Leaders, Diversity, Innovation, Inclusivity, and Voice. - How Inclusive Leaders Maximize the Performance of Their Teams
- Leadership: Currency, Change, & Creating A Powerful Presence
Carla Harris, author of the book, Expect To Win and Strategize To Win, talks with audiences about the components of positioning yourself to maximize your success as a leader in your current career environment or the environment that you want. She explores the concepts of performance currency vs. relationship currency, managing through and creating change, and how to be an impactful and influential leader. - Carla’s Pearls: Tools For Maximizing Your Success
Carla’s passion lies in helping others. As she says, “we are blessed, so that we can be a blessing to others.” While climbing the corporate ladder, Carla had her own personal missteps amidst numerous victories. She vowed that when she reached senior management and people came to her for advice, she would provide them with the tools, strategies, and pearls of wisdom honed by her own experience. “Carla’s Pearls” have become the centerpiece for her many speeches and television appearances. In Expect to Win, Carla shares these valuable lessons, including:
•Authenticity: The Power is You
•The 90-Day Rule
•Perception is the Co-Pilot to Reality
•The Mentor, The Sponsor, The Adviser: Having Them All
•Leverage Your Voice
•Balance is a Necessity: Use Your Passions to Achieve it
•Expect to Win: Show Up With Your Best Self Every Day
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