Our Leadership

Jean-Claude Gruffat

Member United Way Worldwide Leadership Council

Managing Director Weild Capital LLC
New York, New York

Jean Claude recently joined the investment banking firm of Weild Capital LLC, after 5 years with the New York based Galileo Group.

At this firm, he was a senior transactor on advisory mandates and private placements of unlisted securities.  He closed transactions for US firms in the space of new technology and worked on foreign direct investment and financial services assignments. From 1998 until late 2014, Jean-Claude held various positions with Citigroup, Country Corporate Officer for France, Global Relationship Bank market manager for France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and Director of Citibank International PLC. He originated and worked on the executions of major transactions, mergers and acquisitions, financing through bonds, US $ and Euros, equities, and US private placements. He was effective in securing major mandates in the field of global cash management, securities custody and clearing for large clients of the firm, as well as significant trade deals, and export credits. He also worked on complex hedging transactions in the space of currencies, commodities, and interest rates. He was instrumental in restructuring the bank exposure in several challenging situations.

From 2011 through his retirement in 2014, based in New York, he was a senior calling executive on the international subsidiaries of large Multinational Corporations. He was actively involved in the local marketing and sales efforts of Citigroup franchises around the world, Europe, Asia, Middle East/Africa, and Latin America. From 1974 to 1998, Jean Claude was at Banque Indosuez, holding multiple positions in Asia, Middle East and in North America. He worked in financial control, litigation, foreign exchange, international trade, mergers & acquisitions, credit, and lending. For several years he ran the global securities business of the bank before its acquisition by Credit Agricole in 1996. From mid-1996 to June 1998, based in Singapore, he was Chairman Asia Pacific of Credit Agricole Indosuez, overseeing the bank’s activities in 19 countries. He was an Executive Vice President and member of the bank executive management.

Jean Claude is actively involved in nonprofit activities. For 6 years (2014 – 2020) he has been an active board member at United Way Worldwide, and chaired its Development Committee, from 2017 to 2020. He is a Governor of the American Hospital of Paris and the President of its US based American Foundation. He is Chairman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, free market think tank based in Washington DC and serves on the Advisory Board of Atlas Network in DC, and on the board of United Way of New York City.

Jean Claude has a PHD in-law from the University of Lyon, France, and a Master’s in political science from the same institution. He attended the Stanford Executive Program in Palo Alto, CA in 1987. He holds securities license with FINRA, series 63, 79 and 24. He resides in New York City with his wife Christiane.