Harold S. Geneen (1910–1997) conglomerate executive

Born in Bournemouth, England, Geneen immigrated to the United States with his parents in his infancy. He studied accounting at New York University and, to help pay his expenses, worked as a runner on the NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. In the 1930s, he worked as an accountant for several companies before accepting the top accounting job at the American Can Company during World War II.

Geneen then worked briefly for camera maker Bell & Howell and steelmaker Jones & Laughlin before accepting a job in 1956 with Raytheon, an electronics company that did much defense-related work for the government in the postwar years. The company was run by Charles Francis Adams, who allowed Geneen to reorganize the company substantially. Although he quadrupled the amount of Raytheon’s earnings, he was still not given the top job at the company, so in 1959 he left to accept the presidency of International Telephone & Telegraph, a company founded in the early 1920s.

Geneen became convinced that many companies could benefit from diversification of their operations in order to protect themselves against swings in the economic cycle. Part of the strategy was an aggressive acquisitions program. After 1963, he began acquiring specialty manufacturing companies producing things such as industrial pumps, air conditioning units, and control devices used in domestic appliances. In 1964, true diversification began when he acquired Aetna Finance, a consumer finance company, and a British insurance company, creating the foundation of ITT Financial Services.

By 1965, ITT’s revenues had doubled, reaching $1.5 billion. Geneen began pursuing Avis, the car rental company. ITT also made a bid for ABC, the television broadcast company, but there was much regulatory concern about the acquisition. ITT ultimately abandoned it. The company also acquired the Sheraton group of hotels in 1967 and the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. The Hartford acquisition aroused the interest of the Nixon administration and would be allowed only when ITT agreed to divest itself of Avis and two other companies. At the height of its acquisitions program, ITT was adding a company per day, accumulating 250 companies with more than 2,000 operating units.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, ITT moved into the top 20 largest American corporations measured by assets. Geneen came under severe pressure in the early 1970s, being accused of meddling in the affairs of Chile, where ITT had a substantial presence. He and ITT were also accused of buying political influence from the Republican Party during the 1972 presidential election, although none of the charges were ever proved irrefutably. Geneen served his last full year at ITT in 1977 and was succeeded by Rand Araskog as chairman.

See also CONGLOMERATES; LAZARD FRERES; MERGERS.

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