Ieoh Ming Pei (born April 26, 1917), commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect. In 1948, Pei was recruited by New York real estate magnate William Zeckendorf. There he spent seven years before establishing his own independent design firm I. M. Pei & Associates in 1955, which became I.M. Pei & Partners in 1966 and later in 1989 became Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.