Harry Gray (business executive)

Harry Jack Gray(November 18, 1919 – July 8, 2009) was an Americanbusinessmanagerandphilanthropist,best known asCEOandchairmanofUnited 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, inChicago,Illinois.His father's business failed when he was eight, and he financed his college education at theUniversity of Illinoiswith multiple jobs that included washing dishes, waiting tables, and stoking aboarding-housefurnace.

He graduated with ajournalismdegree in 1941, and immediately joined theU.S. Army.His service included a year in the U.S. and three and a half years overseas duringWorld War II.He received theSilver Starfor valor in theBattle of the Bulge,and was discharged as acaptain.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 joiningConsolidated Electro Dynamicsin 1954. That company grew in annual sales from $1 million to $20billionand changed its name toLitton Industriesby 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, ofUnited Aircraft.He was named chief executive officer the next year, then also served as chairman of UA and its successorUnited TechnologiesCorporation starting in 1974.

In 1984Oglethorpe Universityhonored himwith the title of Doctor of Engineering in 1984.

Shortly before his retirement from UTC in 1986, he also became the second recipient of anhonorary doctorate from Central Connecticut State University.

He then served as chairman and CEO ofHarry Gray Associates,which participated withShawmut National Venturein the 1993buyoutofMott Metallurgical Corporation.In retirement, he 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. He is also listed as the largest private donor to the construction of theNational Infantry MuseuminColumbus, Georgia.Bronzebustsof Gray and his wife are on display in the museum, which also houses his helmet and other memorabilia, including hisSilver Starawarded for valor during theBattle of the Bulge.

As of 2003,Gray was also chairman of the boards of bothMott CorporationandSourceOne.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 ofMystic Aquarium) from 1997 until his death.

Harry Gray died on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at the age of 89at Hartford Hospital (inthe citythat is both Connecticut's capital city and UTC's headquarters' location).According to Stephen Miller'sremembrance articlepublished in the Wall Street Journal two days later, 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 had maintained a list of the 50 companies he sought to acquire.

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.

References

• Appointment of Harry Jack Gray as a Member of the President's Commission on Executive ExchangeatRonald Reagan Presidential Library

External links

• Harry GrayatFind a Grave