Hulbert S. Aldrich (1907–1995) was an American banking executive and businessman who had a lengthy career with the
New York Trust Company
The New York Trust Company was a large trust and wholesale-banking business that specialized in servicing large industrial accounts. It merged with the Chemical Corn Exchange Bank and eventually the merged entity became Chemical Bank.
History 19t ...
and its predecessor, the
Chemical Bank
Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United Stat ...
, serving as director of both organizations during his career. He also chaired the
Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private American foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, inc ...
Board of Directors from 1969 through 1977 and served as a board member of
Hill Samuel
Hill Samuel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group's Offshore Private Banking unit. It was formerly a leading British merchant bank and financial services firm before the takeover by TSB Group Plc. in 1987, which itself merged with ...
,
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
, and
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...
.
Life and career
Aldrich, a graduate from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, was born in
Fall River,Massachusetts, in 1907. His older brother was the American football player
Malcolm "Mac" Pratt Aldrich. In 1930, he joined the staff of the
New York Trust Company
The New York Trust Company was a large trust and wholesale-banking business that specialized in servicing large industrial accounts. It merged with the Chemical Corn Exchange Bank and eventually the merged entity became Chemical Bank.
History 19t ...
(NYTC), where he was appointed vice president in 1943. He remained in that position until 1950, when he became president and director of the NYTC. His tenure as president marked several years of steady growth, and the NYTC was the ninth largest bank in New York City when it merged after nine years of his stewardship in 1959 with the city's fourth largest bank, the
Chemical Corn Exchange Bank, to form the Chemical Bank New York Trust Company (CBNYTC).
Aldrich served as Vice President and director of the CBNYTC from 1959 through 1969. In 1969, the CBNYTC's holding company was formed, and Aldrich became vice chairman and director of that company. He retired from that position three years later, in 1972, after which he was elected to the board of
Hill Samuel
Hill Samuel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group's Offshore Private Banking unit. It was formerly a leading British merchant bank and financial services firm before the takeover by TSB Group Plc. in 1987, which itself merged with ...
of London. He served as the chairman of Hill Samuel's New York division from 1973 through 1979.
Aldrich concurrently chaired the
Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private American foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, inc ...
Board of Directors from 1969 to 1977, a position that had previously been held by his brother Malcolm. He also served on the governing boards of several companies during his career, including
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
,
Empire Savings Bank,
Presbyterian Hospital, and
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...
.
After his retirement, Aldrich divided his time between homes in Manhattan and
Little Compton, Rhode Island
Little Compton is a coastal town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, bounded on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Sakonnet River, on the north by the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island, Tiverton, and on the east by the t ...
. His last months were spent living at South Bay Manor, an assisted living facility in
South Kingstown, R.I., where he died on January 2, 1995, at the age of 87.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldrich, Hulbert
1907 births
1995 deaths
American bankers
Yale University alumni
20th-century American businesspeople