James D. Robinson III, who as chief executive of the American Express Company from 1977 to 1993 helped transform Wall Street into a more competitive financial marketplace, with a wide diversity of businesses housed under single roofs, died on Monday in Roslyn, N.Y., on Long Island.
The death, at a hospital, was caused by respiratory failure from recurrent pneumonia, Walter Montgomery, a spokesman for the family, wrote in an announcement.
A soft-spoken son of the Georgia gentry, Mr. Robinson followed a well-worn path to financial success, power and influence: from private school to the Ivy League and then on to the moneyed canyons of Lower Manhattan, with side trips to the corridors of Capitol Hill.
In Washington, he was among Wall Street’s most influential advocates for deregulating the financial industry and widening its horizons.
Some called him the unofficial secretary of state for corporate America.
Persons:
James D, Robinson III, Walter Montgomery, Robinson, Wall
Organizations:
American Express Company, Ivy League, America
Locations:
Roslyn, N.Y, Long, Georgia, Lower Manhattan, Capitol, In Washington