Halifax native Robert Kelly is among America’s best chief executive officers, according to Institutional Investor magazine.

Kelly, chairman and CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., was ranked fourth among large-cap-bank CEOs by the magazine as part of its seventh annual America’s Best CEOs survey.

Survey rankings are based on comments by more than 900 analysts, portfolio managers and other investment professionals, and identify the top CEOs in 57 industry sectors.

In announcing this year’s winners, the magazine said they “score high marks for being forthright and transparent with shareholders and smart with their companies balance sheets, and earn high praise for keeping their companies on course.”

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is a global financial services growth company operating in 34 countries and serving institutions and high-net-worth individuals in more than 100 markets worldwide. The company is a worldwide leader in asset management and securities servicing. It has US$19.5 trillion in assets under custody and administration, US$881 billion in assets under management, services more than US$11 trillion in outstanding debt, and processes global payments averaging US$1.8 trillion per day.

Kelly served as chairman, president and CEO of Mellon Financial Corp. from February 2006 until its merger with The Bank of New York Co., Inc. Prior to joining Mellon, he spent five years as chief financial officer of Wachovia Corp. Previously, he spent 19 years with Toronto-Dominion Bank, where he served as a vice chairman and head of the retail and commercial bank.

In addition to his experience as a CFO, Kelly has extensive background in retail brokerage, banking and securities trading. He is a chartered accountant with an MBA and an honorary doctorate from Cass Business School, City University in London and a bachelor’s degree and honorary doctorate from St. Mary’s University in Canada. Kelly is a member of the Financial Services Forum, the Partnership for New York City and the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board.

IE