Harold Geneen
Harold Geneen | |
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ITT Corporation |
Harold "Hal" Sydney Geneen (January 22, 1910 – November 21, 1997), was an American businessman most famous for serving as president of the
Biography
Geneen was born on January 22, 1910, in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England. His father was Russian-Jewish, and his mother was an Italian Roman Catholic.[1] He migrated to the United States from England as an infant and later studied accounting at New York University. Between 1956 and 1959 he was senior vice president of Raytheon, developing his management structure, allowing a large degree of freedom for divisions while maintaining a high degree of financial and other accountability, which was surprising as he had been ejected from his prior employer, Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, for reckless management of the company books.
From 1959 to 1977 he was the president and CEO of
ITT had many overseas interests. In Europe it had telephone subsidiaries in numerous countries. In Brazil, it owned a telephone company that would be nationalised by President João Goulart.
ITT also had some $200 million-worth of investments in
In 1977 Geneen retired as CEO and president of ITT, was chairman of the board until 1979, and stayed on the board for four more years.[8] While chairman, he recruited James H. Frame from IBM as vice-president to head ITT's software division.[9] His successors, particularly Rand Araskog, steadily sold off parts of the business.
In his obituary, The New York Times stated that he remained active in business and on the boards of several educational institutes until his death, and had said "his post-retirement deal-making had earned him far more than he ever made at ITT."[10]
Geneen's widow, June Geneen, born in Berlin, New Hampshire, died in Boston in October 2012.
Books
Harold Geneen wrote and co-authored several books:
- Geneen, Harold; Brent Bowers (1999). Synergy and Other Lies: Downsizing, Bureaucracy, and Corporate Culture Debunked. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-20080-3.
- Geneen, Harold; Brent Bowers (1997). The Synergy Myth and Other Ailments Of Business Today. New York: ISBN 0-312-14724-4.
- Geneen, Harold; Alvin Moscow (1986). Alta Dirección: Las Normas Básicas Para Triunfar en los Negocios. Barcelona: Ediciones Grijalbo. ISBN 84-253-1871-8.
- Geneen, Harold; Alvin Moscow (1984). Managing. Garden City, NY: ISBN 0-385-17496-9.
There have been several books written about Geneen's time at ITT, and at least one about Geneen himself.
- Schoenberg, Robert J. (1985), Geneen, W. W. Norton & Company.
References
- ^ "Business Heroes – Harold Geneen – Conglomerateur" —London Business School
- ^ Gilpin, Kenneth N. "Harold S. Geneen, 87, Dies" The New York Times, November 23, 1997
- ^ Staff Report of the Select Committee To Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities Archived September 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, December 18, 1975
- ^ Hinchey Report Archived October 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine at US Dept. of State
- ^ Stout, David (January 30, 2003). "Edward Korry, 81, Is Dead; Falsely Tied to Chile Coup". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ Montgomery, Paul L. (September 29, 1973). "I.T.T. OFFICE HERE DAMAGED BY BOMB; Caller Linked Explosion at Latin-American Section to 'Crimes in Chile' I.T.T. Latin-American Office on Madison Ave. Damaged by Bomb Fire in Rome Office Bombing on the Coast Rally the Opponents". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ Ayers, Bill. Sing a Battle Song: The Revolutionary Poetry, Statements, and Communiques of The Weather Underground
- ^ "Harold Geneen, 87; Led ITT's Growth for 18 Years". Los Angeles Times. November 23, 1997.
- ISBN 9780195062168.
- ^ Gilpin, Kenneth N. (November 23, 1997). "Harold S. Geneen, 87, Dies; Nurtured ITT". The New York Times.
External links
