Bob Diamond
Born 1951 · Age 74
Anglo-American banker; longtime investment-banking executive; Group Chief Executive of Barclays (2011–2012); co-founder of Atlas Mara and Atlas Merchant Capital; prominent figure in Libor scandal and in international banking.
Compare Your Trajectory
See how your career milestones stack up against Bob Diamond and other industry leaders.
Life & Career Timeline
Born in Massachusetts
Robert Edward Diamond Jr. born to Anne and Robert Edward Diamond Sr. in Concord, Massachusetts into a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent.
High school graduation from Concord-Carlisle High School
Finished schooling at Concord-Carlisle High School.
Joined Phi Delta Theta (fraternity) at Colby
Active fraternity membership during undergraduate studies at Colby College (Phi Delta Theta).
Graduated Colby College (BA, Economics)
Obtained a B.A. in economics with honours from Colby College; member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
MBA from University of Connecticut (graduated top of class)
Awarded an MBA from the University of Connecticut Business School, graduating first in his class.
Lecturer at University of Connecticut School of Business
Served as a lecturer at the School of Business, University of Connecticut (1976–1977).
IT role at United States Surgical Corporation
Briefly worked in the IT department at United States Surgical Corporation in Norwalk, Connecticut after lecturing.
Joined Morgan Stanley
Joined Morgan Stanley as director of Management Information Systems and began a career in investment banking and trading.
Promoted within Morgan Stanley into trading
Transitioned into trading roles and rose through fixed income desks (approximate timeframe during 1980s).
Married Jennifer (personal milestone)
Married Jennifer Diamond, an engineer from Michigan; the couple have three children.
Became managing director and head of fixed income trading at Morgan Stanley (approx.)
By the end of his Morgan Stanley tenure he had risen to managing director and head of European/Asian Fixed Income Trading (exact promotion dates not specified).
Appointed Chairman, President & CEO of CS First Boston Pacific (Tokyo)
Based in Tokyo; responsible for investment banking, equity, fixed income and FX for the Pacific region.
Left Morgan Stanley; Joined CS First Boston
Departed Morgan Stanley and joined Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) in 1992.
Appointed Vice Chairman, Head of Global Fixed Income & FX at CSFB (NY)
Served as vice chairman and head of global fixed income and foreign exchange for Credit Suisse Financial Products in New York (mid-1990s).
Joined Barclays plc
Joined Barclays PLC on July 4, 1996 as head of Global Markets (BZW’s head of Global Markets role / start of Barclays career).
Became member of Barclays Executive Committee and Chief Executive of Barclays Capital
In September 1997 he joined Barclays' executive committee and was appointed chief executive of Barclays Capital, making the investment bank a core part of Barclays' growth.
Appointed Chairman of Barclays Global Investors (BGI)
Added responsibility in 2002 as chairman of Barclays Global Investors, further extending his influence over Barclays' investment management arm.
Considered leading candidate for Barclays Group Chief Executive
In 2004 was widely regarded as a leading candidate to succeed Matthew Barrett as group chief executive, though John Varley was chosen.
Awarded European Banker of the Year (Financial News Awards)
Named European Banker of the Year at the Financial News Awards for Investment Excellence in European Investment Banking.
Elected to Barclays main board; appointed President of Barclays PLC
In 2005 Diamond joined the main board of Barclays plc, was given the title President, and continued to run Barclays Capital.
Reputation tarnished; labelled 'the unacceptable face of banking'
After the 2006 exposé Barclays practice was outlawed and Diamond faced criticism from UK politicians, harming his public reputation.
WSJ exposé on 'Double Dip' tax arrangements
The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page exposé (June 30, 2006) revealing Barclays' use of 'double dip' tax structures, reported to have generated over £1 billion a year for the bank.
Acted as adviser politically; supported US/UK campaigns
Served as an adviser to political figures; notably an adviser to Boris Johnson in 2008 and associated with U.S. Republican causes.
Led Barclays' bid for Lehman Brothers and acquisition of assets
In September 2008 he headed Barclays' attempt to buy Lehman Brothers and secured key Lehman assets after the firm's bankruptcy, establishing a US investment-banking foothold.
Ranked No. 37 in New Statesman's World's 50 People Who Matter
Listed in the New Statesman survey of influential people in 2010 (ranked 37th).
Public criticism from Lord Mandelson (reputation event)
UK Business Secretary Tony (Lord) Mandelson and other officials criticised Barclays and Diamond (labelled 'unacceptable face of banking'), increasing political scrutiny (reflection of tensions around 2006 exposures and later).
Appointed Deputy Group Chief Executive of Barclays
Became deputy group chief executive on October 1, 2010, positioning him as John Varley's successor.
Included in Bloomberg Markets '50 Most Influential' ranking
Named among the 50 Most Influential by Bloomberg Markets in 2011.
Succeeded John Varley as Group Chief Executive of Barclays
Officially became Group Chief Executive on January 1, 2011, leading Barclays plc.
Spoke at World Economic Forum (Davos) session 'Building Trust'
Participated and spoke during the 2012 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos (session recorded Jan 27, 2012).
Voluntarily gave up 2012 bonus
Announced he would forgo his 2012 bonus amid the Libor scandal and regulatory penalties.
Barclays to pay larger US settlement (reported)
Reports indicated Barclays would pay over $450 million to settle related US charges (CFTC/DoJ-related settlements reported in June 2012).
Barclays fined for Libor-related breaches
On June 27, 2012 Barclays was fined £59.5 million by the FSA as part of a total of approximately £290 million in fines for Libor and Euribor rate manipulation.
Initially refused to resign as CEO
On June 29, 2012 Diamond said he would not resign despite public pressure and the ongoing Libor investigations.
Protege Jerry del Missier resigned
Jerry del Missier, appointed COO on June 22, 2012, also resigned around the same Libor-related leadership shake-up (resigned July 2, 2012).
Barclays chairman Marcus Agius resigned
On July 2, 2012 Barclays' chairman Marcus Agius resigned following the Libor penalties and controversy.
Resigned as Group Chief Executive of Barclays
Diamond resigned with immediate effect on July 3, 2012 following a Bank of England hearing and widespread criticism tied to the Libor scandal.
Founded Atlas Merchant Capital / Atlas Merchant Capital role
Served as founding partner and CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital (the merchant/management entity tied to Atlas Mara and investments in Africa).
Expected payout after exit (~£2m)
Reports in March 2013 indicated Diamond was set to receive about £2m (~$3m) in July 2013 as part of contractual payouts after leaving Barclays.
Co-founded Atlas Mara with Ashish Thakkar
On November 28, 2013 Bob Diamond and Ashish Thakkar founded Atlas Mara, a financial-services holding company focused on African banking acquisitions.
Atlas Mara IPO raised US$325 million
Atlas Mara listed on the AIM (London) on December 17, 2013 via an IPO which raised approximately US$325 million.
Named Chairman of Concord Acquisition Corp II (date reported later)
Listed as Chairman of the Board of Concord Acquisition Corp II (CNDA). Date of appointment publicly referenced in later profiles.
Board membership and advisory roles (ongoing)
Served on boards and advisory councils, including Crux Informatics, Yale SOM Council of Global Advisors, advisory board at Cambridge Judge Business School, Council on Foreign Relations and Atlantic Council.
Honorary degrees conferred (UConn, Colby)
Received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from University of Connecticut and Doctor of Laws from Colby College (dates reported in profiles; specific years not always listed).
Founding circle member of The Nantucket Project (ongoing)
With his wife Jennifer, was a founding circle member of The Nantucket Project, an annual ideas festival on Nantucket, MA.
Stepped down from management of Atlas Mara; remained director
In February 2019 Diamond stepped back from day-to-day management of Atlas Mara but retained a position as a director.
Continued advisory and board roles; public profile as banker and investor
Remained active in advisory, board, and investment roles including Atlas Merchant Capital and other private sector governance assignments.
Key Achievement Ages
Explore what Bob Diamond and others achieved at these notable ages:
Similar Trajectories
Peter Norvig
Born 1956 · Age 69
American computer scientist, co-author of 'Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach', long-time Google research leader, and Distinguished Education Fellow at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI.
Meg Whitman
Born 1956 · Age 69
American business executive, diplomat and politician; long-time CEO of eBay (1998–2008) and Hewlett-Packard/Hewlett Packard Enterprise (2011–2018); 2010 Republican candidate for Governor of California; U.S. Ambassador to Kenya (2022–2024).
Guido van Rossum
Born 1956 · Age 69
Dutch programmer; creator of the Python programming language; former BDFL of Python; Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft.
Rob Pike
Born 1956 · Age 69
Canadian programmer and author; member of the Unix team at Bell Labs; contributor to Plan 9, Inferno, UTF-8; co-creator of Go; longtime Google engineer and author/co-author of influential books on programming.
Leo Laporte
Born 1956 · Age 69
American technology broadcaster, author, podcaster and entrepreneur; founder of the TWiT podcast network and longtime host of tech TV and radio shows including This Week in Tech and The Tech Guy.
Hal Finney
Born 1956 · Age 69
American computer scientist, cryptographer and cypherpunk; early PGP developer, inventor of reusable proof-of-work (RPoW), first recipient of a Bitcoin transaction, ALS patient and cryonics proponent.