Anson M. Beard, Jr. agreed to meet Ray Faltinsky and after the meeting decided to invest his own money into getting Freelife started. He publicly states Freelife is the best investment he ever made and goes on to state he believes Freelife will be the Microsoft of nutrition.
Anson M. Beard, Jr., joined Morgan Stanley & Co. in 1977 as a Vice President to found Private Client Services (PCS). He was promoted to Principal in 1979 and Managing Director in 1980. In January 1981, he was put in charge of the Firm's Equity Division, responsible for sales and trading relationships with institutional and individual investors of all equity and related products worldwide.
Mr. Beard was the former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Security Services Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Group, which engaged in stock borrowing/lending, customer and dealer clearance, international settlements and custody. He served as a Trustee of the Morgan Stanley Foundation, and was a member of the Management Committee and the Inside Board of Directors of Morgan Stanley Group. He served as Vice Chairman of the National Association of Securities Dealers and was Chairman of its NASDAQ Inc. subsidiary.
Mr. Beard is a Trustee of the John A. Hartford Foundation in NYC; The Brandywine Conservancy in Chadds Ford, PA and Wheaton College in Norton, MA (also former Chairman).
Mr. Beard is also a Director of BKF Capital Corp in NYC (NYSE-BKF).
In February, 1994, Mr. Beard retired and became an Advisory Director of Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Beard was born in New York City on March 31, 1936. He graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University in 1958 and attended New York University Graduate School of Business. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley Mr. Beard spent four years as a junior lending officer at Citibank (1958-1962); then was at Laird, Inc. for eleven years (1962-1973) and three years as Chief Operating Officer at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. (1974-1977).
Mr. Beard resides in Greenwich, Connecticut and has three grown children -- Ashley, Anson H. and James M.