In Memoriam: Charles Hallac

Scarsdale resident Charles Hallac passed away at the age of 50 on Wednesday September 9 after a four-year battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Sarah, and three children, David, Rebecca and A.J.

Hallac was Blackrock's first employee in 1988 and built the firm's investment platform, Alladin, which helped to propel the firm's growth and provided tools to improve investment and risk management. In 2009 he was named BlackRock's Chief Operating Officer and lead the integration of Barclay's global asset management business following its purchase by BlackRock. In 2014 he was promoted to Co-President.

According to a press release from Black Rock, "Hallac fought cancer for nearly four years with tremendous courage. He continued to work virtually every day while undergoing treatment, even returning to the office after receiving chemotherapy. Throughout his illness, he tirelessly pushed for continued evolution of the business to anticipate and respond to the rapid changes in technology."

Charles Shaul Hallac was born on Oct. 20, 1964, in Tel Aviv and moved to the Philippines as a toddler. He grew up in Manila and earned a B.S in economics and computer science from Brandies University in 1986. Before joining BlackRock he worked at First Boston.

The family asks that donations in his name be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where almost $25,000 has already been raised in his memory.

The MSKCC website says, "After a courageous battle with cancer, Charlie Hallac passed away surrounded by his beloved family. Charlie's wife Sarah and his three children, David, Rebecca and AJ, were his inspiration, but he was also family to so many of us across BlackRock. BlackRock has lost a great leader, partner and friend. All of us will miss him greatly.

Over the past three and a half years, as he fought a terrible disease, it was easy to forget that Charlie was ill, because he never relented in his passion and energy to make BlackRock a better firm. Even as he received months of medical treatments, Charlie never complained. He was in the office virtually every morning, coffee in hand, ready for work--inspiring, mentoring and broadening our vision for what we could achieve.

BlackRock today is what it is in large part because of Charlie. He saw how to use technology to transform our industry in unique and powerful ways. But what enabled him to turn this vision into reality was his ability to lead people--to see their potential and develop it."