Edward Riggs Telling (April 1, 1919 – October 19, 2005) was chairman and chief executive officer of

Sears, Roebuck Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwal ...

from 1978 to 1985 and led the company in expanding beyond retailing and insurance into financial services. Telling was born in

Danville, Illinois Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The populations was 29,204 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Danville micropolitan area. History The area that is now Danville was on ...

, where his father and uncles owned a bank that was forced to merge with a wealthier institution in the Depression. He won a football scholarship to

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

but returned to

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856. History The in ...

to be near his high-school sweetheart; his father withdrew his financial support and he worked his way through college, graduating in 1946. After service as a pilot in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, he joined Sears in 1946, beginning at the Danville store."CEO Edward Telling; Led Sears's Expansion"
Obituaries, ''

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'', October 21, 2005.Michael Barbaro
"Edward R. Telling, 86, Dies; Led Sears During Transition"
Obituaries, ''

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'', October 21, 2005."Telling, Edward Riggs"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', October 25, 2005. Telling rose to manage the Eastern and then the Midwestern territories of the Sears retailing division, became Senior Executive Vice President for all Sears stores in 1976, then on February 1, 1978, became chairman and CEO of the company, succeeding Arthur Wood. At the request of the board of directors, he retired on December 31, 1985, rather than on his 65th birthday as expected under company rules; his successor, Edward A. Brennan, became president and chief operating officer of the company in August 1984. Sears was beset by crises at the start of Telling's chairmanship. Although during the first four years of his tenure the company's situation continued to worsen and business publications described him as one of the worst corporate executives, when he left it was again on a sound footing. He reorganized the company, changing its internal culture to introduce central control and planning, and diversified it to create a conglomerate, acquiring both the

Dean Witter Reynolds Dean Witter Reynolds was an American Brokerage firm, stock brokerage and securities firm catering to a variety of clients. Prior to the company's acquisition, it was among the largest firms in the securities industry with over 9,000 account execu ...

brokerage firm and the

Coldwell Banker Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is an American real estate franchise owned by Anywhere Real Estate, with headquarters in Madison, New Jersey. It was founded in 1906 in San Francisco, and has approximately 3000 offices in 49 countries and terri ...

real estate agency in the same week, and in the last year of his tenure launching the

Discover card Discover is a credit card brand issued primarily in the United States. It was introduced by Sears in 1985 and currently issued by Capital One. Discover was the first credit card that did not charge an annual fee and offered a higher-than-norm ...

."Edward R. Telling, 86; CEO Led Sears Into Financial Services"
Passings, ''

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'', October 23, 2005. He received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1978 and from St. Norbert College in 1985. He served on the boards of companies including American Can, Philadelphia National Bank, Illinois Tool Works, Kraft, Cox Enterprises and Premark International. He died of cancer in North Palm Beach, Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telling, Edward R. 1919 births 2005 deaths American retail chief executives Sears Holdings people Duke University alumni Illinois Wesleyan University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II