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NMH Magazine : Spring 2004

Honor Roll

Benita Pierce ’56 is a stockbroker who’s established many firsts in her field, including becoming the first African American female broker-dealer. She owns a securities firm, B. Pierce & Company, in New York City. Pierce is profiled in the book Doing It for Ourselves: Success Stories of African-American Women in Business, and has been honored by the National Council of Negro Women for her success as a businesswoman and nonprofit fundraiser. She divides her time between New York and Cape Cod.

Education: Framingham State, BS, 1960; New York University, MBA, 1974 

Nickname at NMH: Bonny 

Worst memory from NMH: Having to pour Sunday tea. 

Best memory related to NMH: Meeting Dr. Rubendall [then Mount Hermon headmaster and president of the schools]. I was waiting tables at a restaurant on Cape Cod, and he and his wife were eating there. He noticed I was waiting on the entire dining room by myself. I was 13 years old. He said, “Do you write anything down? Do you ever make mistakes?” “No,” I answered. He said, “Well, you belong at Northfield.” He made sure I got a scholarship and loans, and that’s how I came. 

Favorite quotation: “Knowledge is power.” 

What firsts have you accomplished? In 1974 I became the first black person on Chase Manhattan’s trading floor. I was Goldman Sachs’s first African American person on the fixed-income trading desk. I became the first African American woman broker-dealer registered with the NASD and the SEC. After NASDAQ went public, I was on its first nominating committee. 

Most humbling experience: Being fired from a major Wall Street firm. 

What would you do differently in your life if you could go back? I would have gone to Wall Street straight out of college. 

What moment would you most like to recapture? The first time I saw a trading floor. My heart stopped—I knew that’s exactly what I wanted to do.

One thing most people don’t know about you: I have no fine motor skills. I’m macro, not micro. I have a friend who kindly wraps my presents at Christmas. 

Most fulfilling volunteer work: I’ve been on the board of directors of Pequenos Soul’s Day Care Center in East Harlem for over 30 years, and I recently helped write a $5 million proposal to fund a community center for it. I also started a program on the Cape for teenage girls in foster care. After the Columbine shootings, I helped organize a biannual peace and spirituality conference for the southern New England region. 

Volunteer work for NMH: Right now I’m gift chair for our 50th reunion, an Alumni Association officer, and multicultural liaison to the ad hoc planning committee. 

Why do you support NMH? Because it supported me. I truly appreciate all NMH did for me, and I want to give something back to show how grateful I am.