Message to Members
THE TICKER
MUSEUM NEWS
2026 Brings Record-Breaking Gala and Museum Opening on Commonwealth Pier, Boston
Welcome to a very special edition of Financial History. This expanded Spring / Summer issue features two important events— our most successful Gala to date in March and the opening of our new Museum in Boston in July. It also includes several feature articles on Boston’ s history, in honor of our new exhibit headquarters.
Message to Members
David J. Cowen | President and CEO
On March 5, we celebrated the achievements of three financial leaders with important awards at our 2026 Gala, which was held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan. Former CNBC Senior Markets Correspondent Bob Pisani and“ WealthTrack” Executive Producer and Managing Editor Consuelo Mack served as masters of ceremony. Bob and Consuelo are valued members of our Board, and we are so appreciative that they continue to bring our Gala to life each year.
Our 2026 honorees included Byron Trott— chairman, co-CEO and co-CIO of BDT & MSD Partners— who received the Whitehead Award for Distinguished Public Service and Financial Leadership.
This award honors leaders whose contributions in the public and private arenas strengthen society and the advancement of the financial industry. Our Financial Innovation Award was presented to David Booth, the founder and chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors. This award recognized his introduction of investing based on the efficient market hypothesis, and his pioneering work in factor investing. And our Lifetime Achievement Award honored the extraordinary career of Mary Ellen Stanek, the founder and CIO emeritus of Baird Advisors and president of Baird Funds.
This was our most successful Gala to date, in both attendance and revenue. The remarks delivered by our honorees and their introducers— Henry Paulson, Jr., Senator Bill Bradley and Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan— were truly inspirational. Excerpts and photos can be found on page 28 of this magazine.
Our Gala also generated excitement for the impending opening of our Museum in Boston, and our chairman, Peter Cohen, showcased some of the incredible artifacts that are now on view in the exhibits. This included a bond owned by John Hancock and signed by Alexander Hamilton, Paul
Revere’ s bank book and a Boston Red Sox stock certificate issued the year Fenway Park opened. Many of the objects in the exhibits were donated to our collection or are on loan from our founder, John Herzog, and we are very appreciative of his generosity.
Following the Gala, our entire staff worked tirelessly to ensure our new Museum was open in time for the nation’ s 250th anniversary celebration on the July 4 weekend. It was an incredible sprint to the finish, with the entire construction, design, curation, fabrication and installation processes completed in a short 16 months from the signing of our lease on Commonwealth Pier in the Boston Seaport.
As you will read on page 6, we previewed our exhibits on July 1 and officially opened to the public on July 3. We could not be happier with the welcome we have received in Boston, and some of the press coverage can be found on our website at www. moaf. org / news. We have also published an exhibit guide, which can be found on page 14.
We welcome all of our friends and supporters to visit us in Boston, and to bring friends, family and colleagues. We are an entirely free community Museum, and we hope to see you all there soon.
The MoAF Board of Trustees at the 2026 Gala on March 5. The MoAF staff at the grand opening in Boston on July 1. Left to right: Gregory Morris, Maura Ferguson, Mindy Ross, David Cowen, Jeanne Driscoll, Kristin Aguilera, Steven Rivera, Linda Rapacki, Robert Dinkelmann and Madeline Tattan.
4 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Spring / Summer 2026 | www. MoAF. org