George W. Haywood

Investment executive George W. Haywood was born on September 30, 1952 in Washington, D.C. to Marie Weaver Haywood and John Wilfred Haywood, Jr. In 1968, he graduated from St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. and enrolled in Harvard College. Haywood received his B.A. degree in biology in 1974 from Harvard College and received his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1979.

In 1982, Haywood was hired at Lehman Brothers in New York City as a corporate bond trader. He was promoted several times at Lehman Brothers throughout the 1980s, becoming a senior vice president in 1984 and an executive vice president in 1986. In 1989, Haywood was promoted to managing director and served as the head of corporate bond trading. In 1992, he was promoted to proprietary trader. Haywood left Lehman Brothers in 1994 to accept the position of director of corporate and high-yield bond investments for Moore Capital Management, a hedge fund management firm in New York City. He served in that role until 1998, when he became a private investor managing his own hedge fund. Over the years, Haywood has invested in biotechnology companies, including Martek Biosciences Corporation, Zix Corporation, Serepta, Neurtrope/Synaptogenix, and Petros.

From 2004 to 2006, Haywood served on the board of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., where he was a member of the finance committee, and from 2011 and 2019, he served on the board of Denny’s Corporation, where he was a member of the audit and finance committee. He joined the Fannie Mae board of directors in 2017, where he was named to the compensation committee and the strategic initiatives and technology committee. Haywood also has served on the board trustees for the St. Albans School, Poly Prep School, The New School, Mannes School of Music, and The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival and as a member of Visiting Committee of Harvard College.

Haywood resides in Washington, D.C.

George W. Haywood was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 17, 2022.