Alan M. Silberstein

’69; CHAIR EMERITUS; PRESIDENT, ALLSTON ASSOCIATES

Alan Silberstein is President of Allston Associates, which offers advice to corporations and emerging enterprises particularly in the financial services industry. He is best known for leading edge thinking and developing efficient processes and networks.

Mr. Silberstein retired from his position as President and CEO of Western Union in 2001. Previously, he served as Chairman and CEO of Claim Services of Travelers Insurance.

Prior to joining Travelers, Mr. Silberstein worked in the banking sector with senior executive positions in retail banking at Midlantic Bank (now PNC) and Chemical Bank (JPMorgan Chase). Prior to becoming a banker, Mr. Silberstein worked for the New York City Bureau of the Budget under Mayor John Lindsay, and as a design engineer for the Ford Motor Company.

Mr. Silberstein has served on a number of corporate boards. In the nonprofit sphere, he serves as a trustee of the Forward Association, the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University, and as treasurer of the Sister Rose Thering Fund at Seton Hall University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and also of Business Executives for National Security, where he works on intelligence matters.

Mr. Silberstein received his B.S degree in metallurgical engineering from Columbia SEAS and his M.B.A. from Harvard. He served as co-chair of The Columbia Campaign for Engineering, on the board of the Columbia Engineering Alumni Association, and on the SEAS Board of Visitors where he is now Chairman Emeritus. He is a recipient of the Columbia University Distinguished Alumni Medal. He and his wife, Carol '69 Barnard, an attorney in private practice, have created the Alan and Carol Silberstein Professorship in Engineering to improve the quality of human life and its surrounding environment through technology. Upmanu Lall of the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering is the first Alan and Carol Silberstein Professor.