Thomas George Stemberg (January 18, 1949 – October 23, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was a pioneer of the office supplies superstore industry, most notably for founding office supply retail chain Staples Inc. with Leo Kahn.

Early life and education

Stemberg was born on January 18, 1949 in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

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the son of immigrants from

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, Austria, Erika (née Ratzer) and Oscar Michael Stemberg. His father was a lawyer who became a restaurateur. His father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic. At Harvard College, he headed on managerial roles at Harvard Student Agencies, a hands-on organization of campus businesses, and the Harvard Independent, a newly established student newspaper. In 1973, Stemberg graduated from the Harvard Business School receiving his M.B.A. as a George F. Baker Scholar.

Career

He started his career with the Jewel Company's Star Markets where he became the vice president for the company's sales and merchandising division. In 1986, Stemberg started Staples with backing from private equity firms, including Hambro International Ventures, Harvard Management, Bessemer Ventures, Adler & Company, and

Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...

; Bain co-founder Mitt Romney served on the company's board of directors for the next 15 years. By 1999, Staples had worldwide sales of over US$7 billion, with more than one thousand superstores, mail order catalogs, e-commerce outlets, and a contract business. In 2005, Stemberg joined

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, a

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firm, in

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as managing general partner. Stemberg has an estimated net worth of $202 million, he was a philanthropist who donated funds in areas pertaining to education. Tom Stemberg (7898355960) (cropped)

Stemberg, a political supporter of Mitt Romney since Romney ran for the U.S. Senate in 1994, spoke on Romney's behalf at the

2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former List of governors of Massachusetts, Ma ...

. Stemberg encouraged Romney to make healthcare more accessible, which led Romney to reform healthcare in the commonwealth.

Personal life

In 2012, Stemberg was involved in a legal dispute with his first wife, Maureen Sullivan. Stemberg died on October 23, 2015, from gastric cancer. He was 66 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stemberg, Thomas G. 1949 births 2015 deaths Staples Inc. people American company founders American grocers American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American retail chief executives Businesspeople from Massachusetts Businesspeople from New Jersey Harvard University alumni Harvard Business School alumni Massachusetts Republicans People from Orange, New Jersey Private equity and venture capital investors Retail company founders Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts 20th-century American businesspeople