Title: Executive Director
Firm: Morgan Stanley
Age: 39
Joseph Abramson is helping to reshape and modernize the nation's infrastructure to meet the challenges of the next century and he couldn't be happier.
"There are real infrastructure problems to solve," he says.
As head of utilities, Joe advises public-sector and corporate clients on financing projects that support water, wastewater, solid waste, and power infrastructure. For the Buffalo Sewer Authority, Joe helped structure the municipal market's first sustainability-linked bonds, earning The Bond Buyer's 2021 Small Issuer Deal of the Year Award.
"The financing helped address flooding that was preventing people from getting to work and moving safely through their community," he says. "That's the kind of impact that makes this work rewarding."
Ironically, Joe's introduction to municipal bonds came long before his career began. His parents, who owned a small business, regularly invested in municipal securities. He initially studied accounting at the University of Florida but found the subject a bit dry, so he switched to information systems and operations management.
A summer internship at Morgan Stanley changed everything. Seventeen years later, he's still there.
Joe serves on the Young Wall Street Executive Council, chairs Morgan Stanley's UJA-Federation Young Leadership team, and regularly volunteers in his community. One of his greatest joys is involving his young children in service projects, whether it's volunteering at a food pantry or finding other ways to give back.
He says simply, "You help people become valuable members of society."
Joe is grateful for the colleagues who have become friends over the years. He describes Morgan Stanley as a place where talented people challenge and support one another, and he looks forward to continuing to grow with a team he respects.
That admiration has even become a family tradition. Ask Joe's young son where he wants to work someday, and the answer comes without hesitation: "Morgan Stanley."
