Harold Geneen American businessman Date of Birth: 22.01.1910 Country: USA

1. Biography of Harold Geneen
2. Leadership at Raytheon
3. Leadership at ITT Corporation
4. Later Career and Controversies
5. Later Life and Legacy

Biography of Harold Geneen

Harold Geneen was an American businessman who was actively involved in various entrepreneurial projects until his death. He was also a member of several educational institutions' boards. Geneen boasted that he earned much more in retirement than during his tenure as the CEO of ITT. He was born on January 22, 1910, in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England. His family moved to the United States when he was still an infant. Geneen received his education in the US and studied accounting at New York University.

Leadership at Raytheon

From 1956 to 1959, Harold Geneen held the position of Senior Vice President at Raytheon, where he oversaw the company's management structure. His reforms granted greater freedom to individual divisions within the company, resulting in significant improvements.

Leadership at ITT Corporation

From 1959 to 1977, Harold Geneen served as the President and CEO of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT). Under his leadership, the company transformed from a medium-sized enterprise with sales volume of $765 million into an international conglomerate with sales of $17 billion. Geneen expanded the company's interests beyond telegraph equipment manufacturing and sales, venturing into insurance, hotel business, and real estate trade. He implemented a series of 350 mergers and acquisitions in 80 countries, successfully incorporating companies like Hartford Fire Insurance Company and the Sheraton hotel network into ITT Corporation.

Later Career and Controversies

In 1977, Geneen stepped down as CEO and President of ITT Corporation, but remained Chairman of the Board until 1979 and a board member for an additional four years. It is worth noting that the new management of the company adopted a different policy and actively pursued the sale of its parts. Geneen's aggressive policies often drew criticism, as he was known for extracting maximum results from his employees and the company itself. He pushed the boundaries of existing legislation, and in 1972 and 1973, ITT was accused of attempting to offer a large sum of money to the Republican National Convention in exchange for support in an antitrust case. However, these allegations were never proven. ITT was also accused of interfering in the political affairs of several countries, such as Chile, where the corporation allegedly attempted to prevent Salvador Allende, a Marxist president, from winning the elections in 1970. However, ITT was unsuccessful in achieving its goals.

Later Life and Legacy

Until his death, Harold Geneen remained an active participant in various entrepreneurial projects and served on the boards of several educational institutions. He proudly claimed that he earned much more in retirement than during his time as the CEO of ITT. Geneen shared his views on business and organizational management in a series of books co-authored with Brent Bowers and Alvin Moscow. He passed away on November 21, 1997, at the age of 87. His wife, June Geneen, survived him by nearly 15 years, passing away in October 2012 in Boston.