Harry Gray (business)
Encyclopedia
Harry Jack Gray was an American
business
manager
and philanthropist
, best known as CEO
and chairman
of United Technologies. He was born Harry Jack Grusin in Milledgeville Crossroads, Georgia
. His mother, Bertha Grusin, died of cancer when he was six years old. He went to live with his older sister, Gussie, in Chicago
, Illinois
. His father's business failed when he was eight, and he financed his college education at the University of Illinois
with multiple jobs that included washing dishes, waiting tables, and stoking a boarding-house
furnace
.
He graduated with a journalism
degree in 1941, and immediately joined the U.S. Army. His service included a year in the U.S. and three and a half years overseas during World War II
. He received the Silver Star
and was discharged as a captain. Gray resumed his studies at U of I, completing a master's degree, with high honors, in 1947. He changed his last name to Gray in 1951. He worked in advertising and sales until joining Consolidated Electro Dynamics in 1954. That company grew in annual sales from $1 million to $20 billion
and changed its name to Litton Industries
by the time he left its employ in 1971.
He left Litton to become president, chief administrative officer, and a member of the board of directors of United Aircraft
. He was named chief executive officer the next year, then also served as chairman of UA and its successor United Technologies Corporation, from 1974 until retiring in 1986. Shortly before retiring, he became the second recipient of an honorary doctorate from Central Connecticut State University
.
Since that retirement, he has served as chairman and CEO of Harry Gray Associates, which participated with Shawmut National Venture in the 1993 buyout
of Mott Metallurgical Corporation. In retirement, Gray and his wife Helen contributed to organizations such as Hartford Hospital, University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, University of Illinois, Mark Twain House in Hartford and other organizations. Gray is also listed as the largest private donor to the construction of the National Infantry Museum
in Columbus, Georgia
. Bronze bust
s of Gray and his wife are on display in the museum. The museum also houses his helmet and other memorabilia, including his Silver Star
awarded for valor during the Battle of the Bulge
.
, Gray was also chairman of the boards of both Mott Corporation and SourceOne. Gray was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2003.Gray also served on the Board of Trustees at Sea Research Foundation (parent company of Mystic Aquarium) from 1997 until his death.
Harry Gray died on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at the age of 89 at Hartford Hospital, Connecticut. According to Stephen Miller's remembrance article (obituary) published in the Wall Street Journal on July 10, 2009, he was "a merger artist who resented making just one deal at a time." Gray was both admired and feared as "The Grand Acquisitor". In the mid-1970s, his prime deal-making days as CEO and chairman of United Technologies Corp., Gray maintained a list of the 50 companies he sought to acquire. As he assembled one of America's largest manufacturing companies, he joked that his biggest handicap was that the government would only allow him to make one acquisition at a time.
Gray was always preoccupied with holding more companies. But he was equally intent on controlling what he had. Passing the torch at the mandatory retirement age of 65 was something he could not abide. "In this system, we don't need a No. 2 man," he once told Business Week.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, best known as CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and chairman
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
of United Technologies. He was born Harry Jack Grusin in Milledgeville Crossroads, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. His mother, Bertha Grusin, died of cancer when he was six years old. He went to live with his older sister, Gussie, in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. His father's business failed when he was eight, and he financed his college education at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
with multiple jobs that included washing dishes, waiting tables, and stoking a boarding-house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
furnace
Furnace
A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...
.
He graduated with a journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
degree in 1941, and immediately joined the U.S. Army. His service included a year in the U.S. and three and a half years overseas during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He received the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
and was discharged as a captain. Gray resumed his studies at U of I, completing a master's degree, with high honors, in 1947. He changed his last name to Gray in 1951. He worked in advertising and sales until joining Consolidated Electro Dynamics in 1954. That company grew in annual sales from $1 million to $20 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
and changed its name to Litton Industries
Litton Industries
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.-History:...
by the time he left its employ in 1971.
He left Litton to become president, chief administrative officer, and a member of the board of directors of United Aircraft
United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of the Boeing firms teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, amalgamated firm, uniting business interests in all aspects of aviation—a combination of aircraft engine and airframe...
. He was named chief executive officer the next year, then also served as chairman of UA and its successor United Technologies Corporation, from 1974 until retiring in 1986. Shortly before retiring, he became the second recipient of an honorary doctorate from Central Connecticut State University
Commencement at CCSU
Central Connecticut State University's annual Commencement Exercises are held each May at the XL Center in Hartford. In most years, a separate graduation ceremony for recipients of advanced degrees is held on campus at Herbert D. Welte Hall....
.
Since that retirement, he has served as chairman and CEO of Harry Gray Associates, which participated with Shawmut National Venture in the 1993 buyout
Buyout
A buyout, in finance, is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" control of the target company....
of Mott Metallurgical Corporation. In retirement, Gray and his wife Helen contributed to organizations such as Hartford Hospital, University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, University of Illinois, Mark Twain House in Hartford and other organizations. Gray is also listed as the largest private donor to the construction of the National Infantry Museum
National Infantry Museum
The National Infantry Museum is a museum located in South Columbus, Georgia, just outside Fort Benning, the home of the Infantry. The museum honors the history of infantry forces in the United States Army.The museum is in size and cost $107 million to build...
in Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
. Bronze bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
s of Gray and his wife are on display in the museum. The museum also houses his helmet and other memorabilia, including his Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
awarded for valor during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
.
, Gray was also chairman of the boards of both Mott Corporation and SourceOne. Gray was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2003.Gray also served on the Board of Trustees at Sea Research Foundation (parent company of Mystic Aquarium) from 1997 until his death.
Harry Gray died on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at the age of 89 at Hartford Hospital, Connecticut. According to Stephen Miller's remembrance article (obituary) published in the Wall Street Journal on July 10, 2009, he was "a merger artist who resented making just one deal at a time." Gray was both admired and feared as "The Grand Acquisitor". In the mid-1970s, his prime deal-making days as CEO and chairman of United Technologies Corp., Gray maintained a list of the 50 companies he sought to acquire. As he assembled one of America's largest manufacturing companies, he joked that his biggest handicap was that the government would only allow him to make one acquisition at a time.
Gray was always preoccupied with holding more companies. But he was equally intent on controlling what he had. Passing the torch at the mandatory retirement age of 65 was something he could not abide. "In this system, we don't need a No. 2 man," he once told Business Week.