David Bendel Hertz (c. 1919 – June 13, 2011) was an

operations research Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...

practitioner and academic, known for various contributions to the discipline, and specifically, and more widely, for pioneering the use of

Monte Carlo methods in finance Monte Carlo methods are used in corporate finance and mathematical finance to value and analyze (complex) instruments, portfolios and investments by simulating the various sources of uncertainty affecting their value, and then determining the di ...

. He developed innovative modeling approaches for the solution of complex management issues. His earliest publications added insights to the industrial process of research and development. He was a professor at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

, where he was distinguished professor of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, director of the University of Miami Intelligent Computer Systems Research Institute, and a professor of management science and law. He served as TIMS President (1964), ORSA President (1974), and was a recipient of the George E. Kimball Medal (1981). He was also a fellow of

INFORMS The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often s ...

(2002). Previously, he had been a practicing

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, and a partner at

McKinsey and 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 ...

and at

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen LLP was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corpo ...

Company. He was also a professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He served as a commander in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during World War II. He was affectionately nicknamed "Cuz-Cuz" by his peers. He is published and cited in various journals on technology, management and operations research, and has authored several textbooks. His most widely cited papers includ

Electronics in Management
' (''Management Science'', February 1965),
Risk Analysis in Capital Investment
' (''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. ''HBR'' is published six times a year ...

'', January/February 1964) and
Investment Policies That Pay Off
' (''

'', January/February 1968). He earned his BA (1939), BS (1940), and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(1949) at Columbia, as well as an MS from the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School (1944) and a JD from

New York University Law School The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

(1984). His PhD in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

addressed "The Theory and Practice of Industrial Research".

References

External links

Profile: informs.orgBiography of David B. Hertz
from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Year of birth uncertain 2011 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians American financial economists American operations researchers Monte Carlo methodologists Corporate finance theorists New York University School of Law alumni Naval Postgraduate School alumni University of Miami faculty Columbia University faculty Fellows of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences 21st-century American mathematicians Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni McKinsey & Company people {{US-mathematician-stub