Greenberg rose through the ranks of Bear Stearns eventually serving as its
CEO from 1978 to 1993 and
Chairman of the Board from 1985 to 2001. Greenberg also served as a
non-executive director of
Viacom. He was the author of
Memos from the Chairman, which is a compilation of memos he issued to the associates of Bear Stearns during his tenure as CEO. In 1969, Greenberg hired
James Cayne as a stockbroker at Bear Stearns. In 1993, Greenberg was ousted and replaced as CEO by Cayne. Cayne served as CEO until January 2008 and was succeeded by
Alan Schwartz, who oversaw the firm's demise in March 2008. While serving as chairman of the executive committee of Bear Stearns, Greenberg oversaw the collapse of the company in March 2008. He was subsequently involved in the talks with
JPMorgan Chase which eventually bought out the failing company.
Fortune reported that Greenberg agreed to join JPMC as vice chairman of Bear's retail business. Greenberg was the financier of Kaufman and Greenberg, a company he set up with
Richard Kaufman to publish
magic books. ==Philanthropy==