John Dewitt Macomber (January 13, 1928 – August 2, 2024) was an American banker. He was the principal of JDM Investment Group and was the president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States from 1989 to 1992.

Career

Macomber was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. until 1973 and chairman and CEO of

Celanese Corporation Celanese Corporation, formerly known as Hoechst Celanese, is an American technology and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a Fortune 500 corporation. The company is the world's leading producer of acetic acid, pr ...

from 1973 until 1986. He exited when the company was acquired by Hoechst AG to become the largest chemical company. Celanese had been ahead of its time in stock buybacks, and Macomber was especially proud that 20% of company stock was "owned by middle managers and ordinary folk who are extraordinarily well off". During the 13 years he led the company, the stock increased in value by 10 times, from $24.50 to $245. Macomber was also chairman of the Council for Excellence in Government,

Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation, and education markets. The company is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois with a di ...

and Company, and vice chairman of the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

. He also served on the board of directors of

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consiste ...

, The Brown Group, Inc.,

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...

RJR Nabisco R. J. Reynolds Nabisco, Inc., doing business as RJR Nabisco, was an American conglomerate, selling tobacco and food products, headquartered in the Calyon Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. R. J. Reynolds Nabisco stopped ...

, Pilkington Ltd., and

Xerox Corporation Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduction of the Xerox ...

. In addition, Macomber served on the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

board and the

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. ICC represents over 45 million businesses in over 170 countries who have interest ...

Personal life and death

Macomber was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and served in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

for two years. He had two older brothers, William Butts Macomber and Robert Macomber. He graduated from

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

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 ...

in 1950, and

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 ...

in 1952. Macomber died in Washington D.C. on August 2, 2024, at the age of 96.

References

Trustee Emeritus: John D. Macomber '46

. Accessed 2011-03-01. ;Specific 1928 births 2024 deaths Atlantic Council American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies Harvard Business School alumni McKinsey & Company people Yale University alumni Lehman Brothers people Phillips Academy alumni Businesspeople from Rochester, New York {{US-CEO-stub