George Van Amson

Senior Advisor, Institutional Equities, Morgan Stanley

Geffen Cooperman Commons

Biography

George Van Amson is a highly accomplished global executive and board member with a proven track record in driving growth and transformation within the financial services industry. With an exceptional Wall Street career spanning 45 years and holding leadership roles at two of the largest, world-renown investment banking firms – Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs – he brings a wealth of expertise and strategic insight to boardrooms.

GVA currently serves on the Boards of the Metropolitan Opera, the largest classical music organization in North America founded in 1833, and Lafayette Square, a financial firm that operates in the middle markets category and invests primarily in the form of senior, secured loans.  He currently serves as a Trustee Emeritus of Columbia University, Director of Community Impact, Vice Chairman of the Board of the Amsterdam Nursing Home, Chair Emeritus of Columbia Alumni Association, Investment Committee Brooklyn Tech Alumni Association. 

GVA is a Senior Advisor leading the Analyst and Associate Development Programs at Morgan Stanley. Prior to assuming this leadership position, he served as Head of North American Recruiting in the Institutional Equities Division and Manager of Sales Trading Service Desk for Global Wealth Management clients. Earlier as a Senior Sales Trader, he was responsible for managing Institutional Cash Sales Trading coverage of hedge funds, trading head of cyclical equities, co-head trader of international equities managing the firm’s Latin American capital risk as well as supervising US and London trading efforts in South Africa. He has served as Chairman of the International Committee of the Securities Traders Association of New York. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 1992, GVA worked at Goldman Sachs as a Vice President, Equities – Trading and Arbitrage Division.

GVA has received numerous awards during his career, including being named to Black Enterprise’s “Top African Americans on Wall Street” list three times (in 1992, 1996 and 2006). He was also the recipient of the 1993 World Economic Forum Global Leader award; the 2007 Racial Harmony award, presented by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from Brooklyn Technical H.S.; and the 2017 Harvard Business School Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Throughout his career, GVA has also been extremely active in his community. He was on the board of Harvard Business School Alumni Association and President of the HBS African American Alumni Association. He has been a member of the Riverside Church Council; Chair of the United Negro College Fund Wall Street Campaign; a Board Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; and on the Investment Committee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 

In November 2023, GVA received the Alexander Hamilton Medal from Columbia University. The Hamilton Medal is the highest honor awarded to a member of the Columbia College community and recognizes distinguished service to the College and accomplishment in any field of endeavor.

GVA is a distinguished academic, holding an MBA from Harvard Business School with second year Honors and a BA in Economics from Columbia University. A Bronx native, GVA resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife Wendy; they have three adult children, Alexandra, Victoria and Schuyler. Additionally, he is a Yodan (4th degree black belt) in Judo, United States National Champion Veterans (2022) and an international tournament competitor.