William Lawton
Encyclopedia
William Lawton is Chairman of Seagate Global Group, an international merchant bank
focused on sustainable community development through investments and trade in China, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. He is an expert in Asian investments and spoken on the topic at venues such as the Milken Conference. He worked closely with Mr. Chen Yuan
to help establish China's central bank, People's Bank of China
, as a modern central bank. Lawton believes that investments can have a positive social impact and at the same time produce a high return. He is a market based activist in such causes as reducing hunger and homelessness, and improving relations between Muslims and Christians.
and then as a member of the Berkeley nuclear physics team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for over 30 years under Dr. Ernest Lawrence
. His mother, Jean Lawton, was a stock market investor and real estate agent. Lawton was employed from an early age in his family's real estate development company, Lawton Craft Industries which was founded in 1952.
. His advisor was the Nobel Prize winning economist Professor George Akerlof
. Lawton received his BA in Economics from Berkeley in 1972. He received a certificate in French Studies at the Sorbonne in 1969.
Upon graduation from Berkeley Lawton embarked on a back pack trip around the world, and started to develop his own theories about economic development and investing centering on Japan. He moved to Japan and studied Japanese in Tokyo at Nichi Bei Kaiwa Gakuin.
He moved back to the US to continue studying development economics at Monterey Institute of International Studies
focusing on Japan's economic growth experience. His Master's Thesis was on lessons to learn from Japan's postwar economic development. He received a MA in International Economics specializing in development economics and the Asian economy from the Monterey Institute in 1977.
Lawton received an MBA specializing in international finance and investments from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business
in 1980.
In 1981, Lawton was hired by the insurance subsidiary of American Express Corporation
, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company
, as a bond analyst and portfolio manager. One year later, Sanford Weill was sent in to improve profitability of the unit, and as a cost cutting measure fired the entire investment department, but Weill kept Lawton as the sole remaining investment professional despite his relative inexperience.
In 1983, Lawton was hired as VP and by First Interstate Bank
to help set up a new fixed income derivative trading company, First Interstate Treasury Services, Ltd. Shortly after being hired, he conceived and executed the first swaption
in 1983.
Lawton moved to Nikko Securities in New York in 1987, one of Japan's so called "big four" securites firms, as Senior Vice President where he established a global trading team (NY/London/Tokyo). In 1989 he was promoted to Co-Chief Investment Officer of Nikko's asset management company, Nikko Capital Management, part of a company with $16 billion in globally managed stocks and bonds under management. While at Nikko he developed the Lawton Bond Model.
In 1992, Lawton was hired by the TCW Group
as Senior Vice President responsible for establishing TCW's global fixed income effort. While at TCW he was selected by Mr. Chen Yuan, the Deputy Governor of China's central bank, People's Bank of China
, to help modernize China's central bank.
Lawton founded the Seagate Global Group in 1996 in Los Angeles to focus on investments, finance and trade in China, Southeast Asia and the US. The People's Bank of China was its first client. During 1997 Lawton worked behind the scenes on financial issues with Mr. Chen to insure a smooth hand-over of Hong Kong back to China in the midst of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 1998 Lawton was asked to produce a White Paper on developing China's financial system to support rapid economic growth by China Development Bank
which he presented to senior China Development Officers in 1998.
Lawton through his company Seagate Global set up a joint venture to invest in China private equity with China Everbright Limitedhttp://www.everbright165.com.hk/, in Hong Kong. Lawton was the founding Chief Executive Officer charged with helping to turn China Everbright into one of China's premier investment companies by China Everbright CEO Mr Guo You who is now President of China Everbright Bank. The JV was named SeaBright Asset Management, Ltd., and launched its first fund, the SeaBright China Special Opportunities Fund I in 2004, one of the first private equity funds in China for foreign investors.
Lawton was hired as a Director of CITIC Capital in 2004 where he remains a Director. CITIC Capital was partially purchased by China Investment Corporation
, China's sovereign wealth fund.
Lawton was named Senior International Advisor to the City of Kunming
in Yunnan Province in Southwest China in 2009 and Advisor and Adjunct Professor of Finance to Tsinghua University
in 2010.
Lawton and Seagate are actively promoting "green" technologies by advising and investing in companies such as Goldwind Science and Technology
(one of China's largest wind turbine producers) and Ecoroads.
Lawton established the Seagate Green Construction Company, Kunming, Ltd. to provide low cost housing in the Philippines and around the world in an effort to reduce homelessness in emerging countries.
Lawton is actively working to improve relations between Muslims and Christians by promoting investment in the southern province of Mindanao
in the Philippines, and as his capacity as advisor to the Malaysian Province of Sabah
.
Merchant bank
A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advisory on corporate matters to the firms they lend to....
focused on sustainable community development through investments and trade in China, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. He is an expert in Asian investments and spoken on the topic at venues such as the Milken Conference. He worked closely with Mr. Chen Yuan
Chen Yuan
Chen Yuan , born in January 1945, is Governor of the China Development Bank.Chen Yuan graduated with a Master' s degree in Industrial Economics from the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences...
to help establish China's central bank, People's Bank of China
People's Bank of China
The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China...
, as a modern central bank. Lawton believes that investments can have a positive social impact and at the same time produce a high return. He is a market based activist in such causes as reducing hunger and homelessness, and improving relations between Muslims and Christians.
Background
William Lawton was born in San Francisco in 1950. His father, also William Lawton, was a nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan ProjectManhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
and then as a member of the Berkeley nuclear physics team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for over 30 years under Dr. Ernest Lawrence
Ernest Lawrence
Ernest Orlando Lawrence was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate, known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron atom-smasher beginning in 1929, based on his studies of the works of Rolf Widerøe, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project...
. His mother, Jean Lawton, was a stock market investor and real estate agent. Lawton was employed from an early age in his family's real estate development company, Lawton Craft Industries which was founded in 1952.
Education
Lawton studied development economics at UC BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. His advisor was the Nobel Prize winning economist Professor George Akerlof
George Akerlof
George Arthur Akerlof is an American economist and Koshland Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. He won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics George Arthur Akerlof (born June 17, 1940) is an American economist and Koshland Professor of Economics at the University of...
. Lawton received his BA in Economics from Berkeley in 1972. He received a certificate in French Studies at the Sorbonne in 1969.
Upon graduation from Berkeley Lawton embarked on a back pack trip around the world, and started to develop his own theories about economic development and investing centering on Japan. He moved to Japan and studied Japanese in Tokyo at Nichi Bei Kaiwa Gakuin.
He moved back to the US to continue studying development economics at Monterey Institute of International Studies
Monterey Institute of International Studies
The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school of Middlebury College, located in Monterey, California, United States...
focusing on Japan's economic growth experience. His Master's Thesis was on lessons to learn from Japan's postwar economic development. He received a MA in International Economics specializing in development economics and the Asian economy from the Monterey Institute in 1977.
Lawton received an MBA specializing in international finance and investments from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
in 1980.
Career
Lawton started his career in finance at Sumitomo Bank in 1976 where he completed the credit training program, and was promoted to International Banking Officer, responsible for corporate lending and trade finance in the Asia Pacific region.In 1981, Lawton was hired by the insurance subsidiary of American Express Corporation
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company
Fireman's Fund Insurance Company
Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, based in Novato, Calif., provides personal and commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States....
, as a bond analyst and portfolio manager. One year later, Sanford Weill was sent in to improve profitability of the unit, and as a cost cutting measure fired the entire investment department, but Weill kept Lawton as the sole remaining investment professional despite his relative inexperience.
In 1983, Lawton was hired as VP and by First Interstate Bank
First Interstate Bancorp
First Interstate Bancorp was a bank holding company based in the United States that was taken over in 1996 by Wells Fargo. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it was the nation's eighth largest banking company....
to help set up a new fixed income derivative trading company, First Interstate Treasury Services, Ltd. Shortly after being hired, he conceived and executed the first swaption
Swaption
A swaption is an option granting its owner the right but not the obligation to enter into an underlying swap. Although options can be traded on a variety of swaps, the term "swaption" typically refers to options on interest rate swaps....
in 1983.
Lawton moved to Nikko Securities in New York in 1987, one of Japan's so called "big four" securites firms, as Senior Vice President where he established a global trading team (NY/London/Tokyo). In 1989 he was promoted to Co-Chief Investment Officer of Nikko's asset management company, Nikko Capital Management, part of a company with $16 billion in globally managed stocks and bonds under management. While at Nikko he developed the Lawton Bond Model.
In 1992, Lawton was hired by the TCW Group
TCW Group
The TCW Group is an investment management company that offers various equity, fixed income, and alternative strategies to and individual investors. The group operates as a subsidiary of SG Gestion....
as Senior Vice President responsible for establishing TCW's global fixed income effort. While at TCW he was selected by Mr. Chen Yuan, the Deputy Governor of China's central bank, People's Bank of China
People's Bank of China
The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China...
, to help modernize China's central bank.
Lawton founded the Seagate Global Group in 1996 in Los Angeles to focus on investments, finance and trade in China, Southeast Asia and the US. The People's Bank of China was its first client. During 1997 Lawton worked behind the scenes on financial issues with Mr. Chen to insure a smooth hand-over of Hong Kong back to China in the midst of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 1998 Lawton was asked to produce a White Paper on developing China's financial system to support rapid economic growth by China Development Bank
China Development Bank
The China Development Bank is a financial institution in the People's Republic of China under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council. It is the only bank in China whose governor is a full minister...
which he presented to senior China Development Officers in 1998.
Lawton through his company Seagate Global set up a joint venture to invest in China private equity with China Everbright Limitedhttp://www.everbright165.com.hk/, in Hong Kong. Lawton was the founding Chief Executive Officer charged with helping to turn China Everbright into one of China's premier investment companies by China Everbright CEO Mr Guo You who is now President of China Everbright Bank. The JV was named SeaBright Asset Management, Ltd., and launched its first fund, the SeaBright China Special Opportunities Fund I in 2004, one of the first private equity funds in China for foreign investors.
Lawton was hired as a Director of CITIC Capital in 2004 where he remains a Director. CITIC Capital was partially purchased by China Investment Corporation
China Investment Corporation
China Investment Corporation is a sovereign wealth fund responsible for managing part of the People's Republic of China's foreign exchange reserves. CIC was established in 2007 with approximately US$200 billion of assets under management, making it one of the largest sovereign wealth funds...
, China's sovereign wealth fund.
Lawton was named Senior International Advisor to the City of Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
in Yunnan Province in Southwest China in 2009 and Advisor and Adjunct Professor of Finance to Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
in 2010.
Activism
Lawton is working on improving the efficiency of food production in China and Southeast Asia as the financial advisor to the Southeast Asia Commodity and Food Exchange and the Zheng He Agriculture Park in Kunming China. He has been an early proponent of the North Food Exchange in Bulacan, Philippines as a tangible way to help farmers increase income that is environmentally friendly, and is both an advisor and investor in the project. He has appeared on Philippine national television in support of the project with former Bulacan Governor Josie De La Cruz and worked with former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the project.Lawton and Seagate are actively promoting "green" technologies by advising and investing in companies such as Goldwind Science and Technology
Goldwind Science and Technology
Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Company or Goldwind is a Chinese government wind turbine manufacturer based in Urumqi, Xinjiang. The company is one of the largest turbine manufacturer in China and one of the top five in the world....
(one of China's largest wind turbine producers) and Ecoroads.
Lawton established the Seagate Green Construction Company, Kunming, Ltd. to provide low cost housing in the Philippines and around the world in an effort to reduce homelessness in emerging countries.
Lawton is actively working to improve relations between Muslims and Christians by promoting investment in the southern province of Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
in the Philippines, and as his capacity as advisor to the Malaysian Province of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
.
External links
- http://www.seagateglobal.com/
- http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/english/963/index.html
- http://www.everbright165.com.hk/
- http://www.milkeninstitute.org/events/gcprogram.taf?function=bio&EventID=GC06&SPID=2285
- http://bayan-natin.blogspot.com/2008/04/seagate-global-to-invest-100m-in-rp.html