Raymond J. McGuire grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where his mother worked as a social worker. Born January 23, 1957, he held summer jobs as a teenager and later received a scholarship to the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, graduating in 1975. He went on to Harvard, where he earned his undergraduate degree, a law degree and an MBA, completing the last two in 1984. Contemporary Black Biography explicitly identifies him as African American and describes education as a significant part of his path into investment banking.
His early career included First Boston and the advisory firm Wasserstein Perella, followed by Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, advising companies on mergers and acquisitions. He later spent thirteen years leading Citigroup's global corporate and investment banking business, a stretch his current firm describes as the longest tenure in that position, running a business of more than $20 billion. Lazard's current biography identifies him as the firm's president, a post he took in April 2023, and records his service with the Harvard Management Company beginning in November 2025.
In 2021, he put that career before voters. He announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in October 2020, campaigned as a jobs-focused candidate and lost in the Democratic primary on June 22, 2021.
Education and the arts have occupied a substantial place in his public work. Harvard Business School's historical alumni profile documents his career and institutional involvement, and he returned to the school as its 2023 Class Day speaker.
His connection with the Studio Museum in Harlem shows how his roles have changed with time. In a July 2, 2026 announcement, the museum named Kathryn C. Chenault as its new board chair, and McGuire, who had served as chair, became chair of the executive committee. The museum's announcement looked back on the opening of its new building in November 2025 and credited a broad group of participants: museum staff, trustees, donors and the building's design team.
