Michael John Paul Marks (born 28 December 1941) is a British businessman, best known as executive chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe (1995 – 2003)[1] and before that CEO and then chairman of City of London stockbroker Smith New Court (1985 to 1995) until its acquisition by Merrill Lynch in 1995.
[2] Marks’ career began at City of London stockjobbing firm Smith Brothers (later Smith New Court) in 1958, where he started as a messenger and then “blue button”, working his way up to the position of director in 1975.
In 1995, he took over from Sir Michael Richardson as executive chairman of the firm,[5] overseeing its sale to Merrill Lynch that same year.
[7] In a nod to their earlier days, the new venture was called NewSmith Capital Partners.
[10] During that time, Merrill Lynch advised the London Stock Exchange on its ill-fated merger with Deutsche Börse in 2000; but it stepped down from that role after that proposed transaction unravelled.