Stuart Linde

Stuart Linde

Executive Chairman, Water Tower Research

Stu Linde is Executive Chairman of Water Tower Research. Throughout Stu’s 30-year career as an equity research analyst, manager, and leader, Stu has been focused on building ROE accretive businesses, changing the business of research, and creating a legacy of analyst development. Stu has been a successful equity research analyst in multiple sectors, a leader of the top US equity research team, and Stu has built a global equity research department across multiple regions, training and mentoring numerous top analysts along the way.

Stu started his career as a Special Situations Analyst at Fahnestock & Company (now Oppenheimer) and grew the Leisure franchise at Gerard Klauer Mattison (BMO Capital Markets). But it was at Lehman Brothers where Stu had his greatest impact. After a career as an Institutional Investor All-America top-ranked analyst covering the casinos, entertainment, and cable industries, Stu became the Head of US Equity Research for the next decade. During Stu’s tenure, the US equity research department was ranked "#1" in the annual Institutional Investor All-America research survey for six consecutive years. And the equity research department ranked in the top 3 for all 10 years. Approximately 70% of the top-ranked analysts were developed internally under Stu’s leadership.  

Following the merger of Barclays and Lehman Brothers in 2008, Stu oversaw the buildout of their global equity research platform. While maintaining a top platform in the US, Barclays expanded its presence in Europe, Japan, Non-Japan Asia, Canada, and Latin America. Under Stu’s guidance, the equity research department coverage list grew from 1,000 to 2,600 stocks in five years and became a top 10 equity research provider in each region with top 5 recognitions in the US, Japan, and Latin America. Stu was a member of the Global Equity Executive Committee, Global Investment Bank Operating Committee, and the firm’s Equity Commitment Committee.  After retiring from Barclays in 2014, Stu continued his career at Sterne Agee CRT and Scotiabank as Head of US Equity Research. 

Stu holds an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University Graduate School of Management and a BA in Economics from New York University.