Gerhard Rudolf "Gerry" Andlinger (January 17, 1931, in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

– December 22, 2017) was an international business executive, philanthropist, sportsman, and founder of the private investment firm Andlinger & Company, Inc.

Career summary

Following service in the U.S. Army, and becoming a US citizen Andlinger began his career with

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

, a noted management consulting firm. In 1960, he was recruited to

International Telephone and Telegraph ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three businesses ...

(ITT) by the legendary Harold Geneen as the first director of planning and organization. Andlinger was named Group Executive – Far East in 1962. During that time he served on the board of directors of

Nippon Electric Company is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inter ...

(NEC) and

Sumitomo Electric is a manufacturer of electric wire and optical fiber cables. Its headquarters are in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The company's shares are listed in the first section of the Tokyo, Nagoya Stock Exchanges, and the Fukuoka Stock Exchange. In the peri ...

. He became the youngest elected Vice President of ITT at the age of 34. Andlinger left ITT in 1967 to become chairman of Esterline Corporation, but was recruited back to ITT in 1972 as chairman of ITT's Levitt & Sons, Inc. He later served as President of ITT Europe and was elected Executive Vice President of ITT Corporation. In 1976, Andlinger formed his own private investment firm, Andlinger & Company, Inc. (A&Co.). He additionally served as chairman and CEO of numerous A&Co. portfolio companies. Since its founding, the firm, with offices in the United States, Europe and China, has been involved in over 100 corporate acquisition transactions.

Academic and personal life

In 1948, as a winner of a ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' essay contest for Austrian high school students, Andlinger made his first visit to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. At the age of 19, Andlinger received a scholarship to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

– the alma mater of his earlier American student host - with advanced placement as a junior. He graduated from Princeton University in 1952 with a degree in economics and a minor in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

language. As part of his degree, Andlinger completed a 137-page long senior thesis titled "The Economic Effect of the Tax on the Unreasonable Accumulation of Profits." He continued his academic career at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

and was awarded an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in 1954. He also was awarded an honorary doctorate from

Bryant College Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It has three colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New E ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

for contributions to international management. Andlinger married Jeanne Dailey in 1994, when she was 37 and he was 62. Andlinger had five children by four different women. His 15-year-old son, Gerhard Andlinger II, committed suicide in 2011. In 2015, Andlinger purchased

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

's penthouse at 158 Mercer Street in New York's

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

neighborhood for $34 million. In 2017 Andlinger listed the property for sale at $38 million but was forced to lower his price to $34 million after it sat on the market for nearly 10 months. The home had six bedrooms, six bathrooms and a chef's kitchen. He also owned a $65 million home in Manhattan's

Time Warner Center Deutsche Bank Center (also known as One Columbus Circle and formerly Time Warner Center) is a mixed-use building on Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building occupies the western side of Columbus Circle and strad ...

Philanthropy

Andlinger has been a large contributor to Princeton University,Princeton - News - Financier Gerhard Andlinger Makes $25 Million Gift to Princeton University
/ref> leading hospitals in the area of cancer research, and the American Austrian Foundation among many other causes. A $25 million gift to Princeton University in 2000 created the Andlinger Center for the Humanities, and a $100 million gift in 2008 created the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment as well as Andlinger Laboratory. He also is active in The Salzburg Festival Society. As an admirer of Austrian Arts, Andlinger has sponsored a variety of causes related to the exchange of art, specifically the Ars Electronics and an Exhibition of Austrian Artists in the U.S. Andlinger endowed the professorship for distance learning at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Insider trading

Andlinger settled with the SEC an outstanding

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...

allegation by paying disgorgement and civil penalties in excess of $3.4 million and entered into an agreement barring Andlinger from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years. He did not admit or deny wrongdoing.SEC
/ref>

References

External links

Gerhard Andlinger Website

Andlinger & Company, Inc. Website

Princeton University Press Release on Gift
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andlinger 1931 births 2017 deaths American financial businesspeople Princeton University alumni Harvard Business School alumni Austrian emigrants to the United States People from Linz People from SoHo, Manhattan 20th-century American philanthropists