http://www.cnbc.com/id/32860315 Investment Manager Dead by Apparent Suicide Published: Tuesday, 15 Sep 2009 | 1:05 PM ET Text Size By: Reuters James McDonald, a prominent adviser to wealthy families as chief executive of investment management group Rockefeller, died of a single gunshot wound Sunday, local authorities said Tuesday. McDonald, 56, was found dead in his car near a strip mall in Dartmouth, Massachusetts Sunday afternoon. Police are still investigating. "The preliminary investigation concludes that this was an apparent suicide,'' Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter said. McDonald won praise for growing Rockefeller & Co, the New York-based family office established by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller in 1882 to manage the dynasty's assets, into a broader investment management company with roughly $28 billion in assets. Known as a perfectionist who drove himself and his employees hard, McDonald lived in New York City where people who worked with him said he was equally at home in corporate boardrooms and the city's most exclusive social circles. Earlier this year, McDonald was one of the directors who left the board of lender CIT Group [CIT 1.46 --- UNCH (0) ]. The directors cited the increased demands related to CIT becoming a bank holding company in December 2008 and time constraints related to each of their other professional commitments and responsibilities as their reasons for leaving, according to a CIT proxy. McDonald was married with a son and daughter and had homes on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and in Boston. Rockefeller & Co confirmed the death in a short statement but declined to give further details. It said Austin Shapard, the company's chief operating officer and chief financial officer, was now running the company. "The NYSE Euronext [NYX 29.23 0.91 (+3.21%) ] community offers our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Jim McDonald, an outstanding and accomplished individual who served our capital markets and NYSE Euronext with great commitment and integrity," said NYSE Euronext in a statement issued to CNBC.
