James Farrell Crowley

James Farrell Crowley
Jim Crowley began his next journey on August 24, 2023. He is survived by his lifetime partner and wife, Martha Moore, his son William of New York City, and daughters, Farrell (Miller) of Greenwich and Marjorie (O'Hanley) of Los Angeles and their families, including his grandchildren, Cynthia, Eleanor, Isabel and James.
Education was a foundation for Jim. This began at The Friends School in Atlantic City, NJ, which he credited with instilling in him a lifelong sense of self-reliance. In 1971, he graduated from Villanova University, where he cultivated leadership skills that would serve him throughout his career. In 1976, he received his MBA from the Wharton Graduate School, which prepared him for the rigorous demands of the business world.
Jim's career on Wall Street began at Smith Barney in 1976, where he developed a successful business model and national market for mortgage-backed securities. He moved to Prudential Securities in 1984, where he rose to become President of its Global Investment and Merchant Banking Group as well as a Director of its Executive Committee. In 1993, taking an entrepreneurial turn, he founded a national knowledge-based conference business, Strategic Research Institute, which was purchased in 2006 by Wasserstein Private Equity.
He believed deeply in good corporate governance. He served on several corporate and not-for-profit boards, including Core Molding Technologies Inc., Harry Winston Inc. and Green Plains, Inc. He also served as a founding member on the Deans Advisory Council of the Villanova School of Business between 1998 and 2004. During that time, the school grew to become a top ranked National Business School. He received a Corporate Governance Certificate from Harvard.
Jim's tenacity extended beyond the corporate board room as a steward of our oceans. He was a Trustee and Vice Chairman of the National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation. Motivated by its mission, he visited every Sanctuary from the Pacific Northwest to American Samoa. He was also on the boards of the Patroon Group and the Forage Fish Alliance. He advanced many public and private policies related to ocean conservation. Inspired by his peer, H. Bruce Franklin (The Most Important Fish in the Sea, 2007), he relentlessly raised public awareness of the dwindling menhaden stock and broad implications of its unrestricted commercial fishing in US waters.
The ocean was also his solace. Jim was a veteran sailor, with a career spanning one-design racing in Long Island Sound to big boat race programs in international waters. A long-standing member of The New York Yacht Club, he served for many years on the Race Committee. He was also a member of the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin, Ireland, and the Belle Haven Club in Greenwich, where he served as Commodore in 2004. When he wasn't competing, Jim and Martha cruised extensively and undertook numerous global ocean expeditions. He also maintained a fine handicap at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich and The Winged Foot Club in Mamaroneck, NY. He was a lifetime member of the New York Athletic Club.
His two greatest joys were family and friends and being on the water. Done in tandem was bliss.
His family plans a private celebration of life.