Carla A. Harris is currently Vice Chairman of Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley.
Personal Attributes and Interests
- She is a gospel recording artist.
- She’s the author of 2 books.
Work Experience
Ms. Harris was previously Managing Director in the Institutional Advisory Group at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. She also headed the Emerging Managers Platform and the equity capital markets effort for the Consumer and Retail industries and was responsible for raising private equity capital for emerging companies in all industries as the head of equity private placements. Ms. Harris has extensive industry experience in the consumer, technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial, and healthcare sectors.
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, Digitas, Redback, the General Motors sub-IPO of Delphi Automotive Donna Karan, and others.
Board and Advisor Roles
- Ms. Harris serves on the board of directors of Walmart Corporation.
- She was elected to the board of Cummins Inc., in May 2021.
Accolades
As a Wall Street banker, Ms. Harris has accomplished much;
- She was named to Fortune Magazine's list of "The Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America", and to Fortune's "The Most Influential List" 2005.
- to Black Enterprise Magazine's "Top 50 African Americans on Wall Street,"
- She was on Essence Magazine's list of "The 50 Women Who are Shaping the World."
- She was on Ebony's list of "15 Corporate Women at the Top."
- She was on The Network Journal's 2005 list of "25 Most Outstanding Women in Business"
- She was named Woman of the Year 2004 by the Harvard University Black Men's Forum.
- She has been named to the New Jersey Hall of Fame (2015).
- 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.
- She has received the Pierre Toussaint Medallion from the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York.
- She has received the Women of Power Award given by the National Urban League.
- She has received the Women of Influence Award from The Links, Incorporated and many other awards.
Philanthropy, Community Service and Memberships
- She’s the past Chair of the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation from 2005 to 2014 and of
- She served on The Executive Leadership Council.
- She sat on the boards of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), A Better Chance, Inc, and St. Vincent’s Hospitals.
- In August 2013, President Barack Obama appointed Carla to serve as chair of the National Women’s Business Council.
- She served on the boards of the nonprofit organization Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
- Ms. Harris served as a member of the board of overseers of Harvard University.
- She was co-chair of the National Social Action Commission of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Education
Ms. Harris graduated magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard University. After her undergraduate career, Ms. Harris attended and graduated from the Harvard Business School with a Masters of Business Administration.
