John Gregory Berylson (2 June 1953 – 4 July 2023) was an American businessman and founder of Chestnut Hill Ventures LLC. He was also the chairman of London

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

from 2007 until his death in 2023.

Education

Berylson attended

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 ...

earning an M.B.A.,

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

earning an A.B. degree, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, where he earned an M.S.

Career

Berylson was the director of Youngworld Stores Group, Inc and Non Executive Chairman, Member of Audit Committee and Member of Remuneration Committee of Millwall Holdings PLC. Berylson pumped an estimated £100m into the club. Berylson was also the director of Manifold Capital Corp. Berylson had been reported as being a Republican, having donated to

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

in the 2008 Presidential Election, however, Berylson denied this and said that he was a registered

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. Berylson was a member of the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

faith and had 3 children. Berylson was once a

US Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

, and a fan of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. He held numerous Trustee positions; at the

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and one of the founding members of Beth Israel Lahey Health. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (f ...

, The

Newton-Wellesley Hospital Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) is a community teaching medical center located in Newton, Massachusetts on Washington Street. It is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Founded in 1881, part of its ca ...

, Brown University Sports Foundation, and he held the position of Director at the Brown University Library System.

Personal life

Berylson was a philanthropist. He and his wife Amy moved their philanthropy through the Amy Smith and John G. Berylson Foundation. They primarily supported education, as well as philanthropy in Boston through the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation.

Death

Berylson died due to an accident on 4 July 2023, at the age of 70. Berylson was driving in

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...

, lost control of his

Range Rover The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...

and hit a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

References

1953 births 2023 deaths American businesspeople American soccer chairmen and investors Harvard Business School alumni Brown University alumni New York University alumni Millwall F.C. directors and chairmen Road incident deaths in Massachusetts {{US-business-bio-1950s-stub