Lewis S. Ranieri
Prime Originator and Founder, Hyperion
“Revolution in Mortgage Finance”
Lewis S. Ranieri, is the prime originator and founder of the Hyperion private equity funds (“Hyperion”) and chairman and/or director of various other non-operating entities owned directly and indirectly by Hyperion. Mr. Ranieri also serves as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ranieri & Co., Inc., a private investment advisor and management corporation, and he is founder of Ranieri Partners, LLC, an investment company focused on financial service opportunities. He is also Chairman of Franklin Bank Corp. and Root Markets, Inc., an internet-based mortgage leads company. Prior to forming Hyperion, Mr. Ranieri had been Vice Chairman of Salomon Brothers, Inc. (“Salomon”). He is generally considered to be the “father” of the securitized mortgage market. Mr. Ranieri helped develop the capital markets as a source of funds for housing and commercial real estate, established Salomon’s leadership position in the mortgage-backed securities area, and also led the effort to obtain federal legislation to support and build the market. At Salomon, Mr. Ranieri had responsibility for the firm’s activities in the mortgage, real estate and government-guaranteed areas.
Regarded as an expert and innovator in both the mortgage and capital markets, Mr. Ranieri has served on the National Association of Home Builders Mortgage Roundtable continuously since 1989. In recognition of his dedication and lifelong achievements in the housing industry, Mr. Ranieri was inducted into the National Housing Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the lifetime achievement award given by the Fixed Income Analysts Society, Inc. and was subsequently inducted into the FIASI Hall of Fame for outstanding practitioners in the advancement of the analysis of fixed-income securities and portfolios. In November 2004, BusinessWeek magazine named him one of “the greatest innovators of the past 75 years,” and in 2005, he received the Distinguished Industry Service Award from the American Securitization Forum.
Mr. Ranieri serves as a trustee or director of Environmental Defense and The Metropolitan Opera Association and is also on the Board of the American Ballet Theatre.
HISTORY OF THE JOHN T. DUNLOP LECTURE
The John T. Dunlop Lecture commemorates the life and work of the late John T. Dunlop, Lamont University Professor Emeritus of Harvard University from 1985 to 2003 and United States Secretary of Labor during the Ford administration. In a lifetime career dedicated to improving labor-management relations, Professor Dunlop’s skillful arbitration and negotiation led to celebrated dispute resolutions in academia, industry, and government.
In 1999, the Joint Center for Housing Studies partnered with the National Housing Endowment and the Graduate School of Design to create a named lecture that would serve as a lasting tribute to Professor Dunlop and his many contributions to the national housing community.
10/01/08