John S. Chalsty was born in Port Elizabeth in the 1930s and was vice-chairman of the New York Stock Exchange from 1990 to 1994 and a NYSE director from 1988-94. The investment banker and philanthropist has had a successful career in the USA. In 2000 he established the John S and Jennifer A Chalsty Fellowship at the Harvard Business School, in Boston, to support black South African MBA students.
Chalsty attended Christian Brothers College in Kimberley and graduated from Wits with an MSc in Chemistry in 1954. He played rugby for the Wits and Transvaal under-19 rugby teams alongside Wilf Rosenberg, Clive Ulyate and Joe Kaminer. Having won the Stanvac Scholarship, he was able to study at the Harvard Graduate School of Chemistry in 1955 and the Harvard Business School for two years, graduating in 1957. He joined Standard Oil (later Exxon) in New Jersey. In 1969, he joined Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) as a research analyst, working there for 31 years. In 1996 he became chairman of DLJ, until 2000.
Although retired now, he is president of the Lincoln Centre Theatre, vice-chairman of the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a board member of various art institutes across the US and the Executive Council on Foreign Diplomacy.
