Profile

Carla A. Harris is a distinguished finance executive with over three decades of experience at Morgan Stanley, where she currently serves as a Senior Client Advisor morganstanley.com Throughout her tenure, Ms. Harris has held several pivotal roles, including Vice Chairman, during which she focused on enhancing client connectivity and revenue generation across the firm.

Ms. Harris’s extensive industry expertise spans technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial, and healthcare sectors. She has been instrumental in executing significant transactions, such as the initial public offerings for UPS, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Ariba, and Redback, as well as the $3.2 billion common stock transaction for Immunex Corporation, one of the largest biotechnology common stock transactions in U.S. history  In 2013, President Barack Obama appointed Ms. Harris to chair the National Women’s Business Council, reflecting her commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs.

She has also served as the past Chair of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and The Executive Leadership Council, and sits on the boards of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), The Sesame Workshop, and the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.

Ms. Harris’s achievements have earned her numerous accolades, including:

• Named to Fortune Magazine’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America”

• Featured in Fortune’s Most Influential List

• Recognized in U.S. Banker’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance

• Included in Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business

• Listed among Essence Magazine’s “50 Women Who are Shaping the World”

• Featured in Ebony’s Power 100 and “15 Corporate Women at the Top”

Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Ms. Harris is an accomplished singer who has performed sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theatre. She has released four gospel CDs, with her first, “Carla’s First Christmas” (2000), becoming a bestseller on Amazon.com in New York.

She is also an internationally renowned public speaker and the author of three books: “Expect to Win” (2009), “Strategize to Win” (2014), and “Lead To Win” (2022).

Ms. Harris holds an MBA, with Second Year Honors, from Harvard Business School and an AB in economics, Magna Cum Laude, from Harvard University. She has also received Honorary Doctorates of Laws, Humanities, and Business from several institutions, including Marymount Manhattan College, Bloomfield College, Converse College, Jacksonville University, Simmons College, the College of New Rochelle, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Babson College, Fisk University, Wake Forest University, and Felician University.

Ms. Harris’s extensive experience, leadership roles, and numerous accolades underscore her exceptional capabilities and dedication to excellence, making her a compelling choice for clients considering investment opportunities with Morgan Stanley.