Barry F. Sullivan (December 21, 1930 – August 11, 2016) was an American investment banker and politician who served as chairman and CEO of First Chicago Corporation from 1980 to 1991, and deputy mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

under

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enterin ...

Early life and education

Sullivan was born on December 21, 1930, in

and grew up in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. His father worked in the insurance business. He attended the Jesuit Regis High School, where he excelled in academics and athletics. After graduating from Regis, Sullivan considered the priesthood and entered

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and was a high-scoring basketball player for the

Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program represents Georgetown University in NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball and the Big East Conference. Georgetown has competed in men's college basketball since 1907. The current head co ...

team. In 1952, he enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and served in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. He finished college at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and graduated with a B.A. in history and languages in 1955.

Career

Despite not having played competitive basketball in three years, he was approached by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and offered a contract upon his graduation from Columbia. However, he had a change of heart and moved to

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...

, where he worked for

Inland Steel Company The Inland Steel Company was an American steel company active in 1893–1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago at the landmark Inland Steel Building. Inland Steel was an i ...

and attended the

University of Chicago Booth School of Business The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth or Booth) is the graduate business school of the University of Chicago. Founded in 1898, Chicago Booth is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and is associated with 10 N ...

, earning an MBA in 1957. He landed a job at

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often 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 fina ...

in 1957 and was named a senior vice president in 1972, the youngest person ever to hold the position. He eventually became an executive vice president and a member of the bank's management committee. In 1982, he was chosen from about 25 candidates to become the chairman and CEO of First Chicago Corporation, the holding company for

First National Bank of Chicago First Chicago Bank was a Chicago-based retail and commercial bank tracing its roots to 1863. Over the years, the bank operated under several names including The First National Bank of Chicago and First Chicago NBD (following its 1995 merger with ...

, American National Corporation, First Chicago Community Bankcorp, FCC National bank, and Gary-Wheaton Corporation. During his 11 years at

First Chicago First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, Sullivan replenished the bank's depleted executive ranks, boosted morale and increased the bank's profitability, turning it into the city's largest bank. He also helped place First Chicago on a firm foundation by growing its credit card business into the country's second largest credit card lender. In 1986, he was appointed chairman of the

Institute of International Finance An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

, a

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

-based organization representing the world's commercial bankers. He served as chairman until 1991. In 1991, he announced his retirement from a 34-year-career in banking. Upon returning to

in 1992, he became a deputy mayor for finance and economic development under Mayor

, after being approached by

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

about taking the job. He was instrumental in retaining key financial institutions from leaving the city. Two years later, he served as chief operating officer of the

New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

. He was also president of Greater New York Chamber Of Commerce.

Other interests

In his later years, Sullivan pursued a master's degree in theology at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

and spent a decade as vice chairman of publicly traded power plant owner and operator Sithe Energies. Outside his business career, Sullivan was involved in the creation of the Big Shoulders Fund, which has raised more than $300 million to support inner-city Catholic schools in the city's poorest neighborhoods. He was also elected to the board of trustees of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1980, becoming vice chair of the board from 1985 to 1987 and chair of the board from 1988 to 1992. He served on the board of trustees of

, and the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

Awards and honors

Sullivan was a member of the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

and a recipient of the

Order of Saint Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

. In 1994, he was awarded an honorary LLD from the University of Chicago. In 1996, he was given a John Jay Award by Columbia College, his alma mater, for his achievements in business and civic leadership.

Personal life and death

Sullivan was married to Audrey Sullivan, who died in 2009. He died on August 11, 2016, at his home in

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...

after suffering a stroke, and was survived by five children, 17 grandchildren, and his sister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Barry F. 1930 births 2016 deaths People from New York City Columbia College (New York) alumni Georgetown University alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni American financiers Businesspeople from Chicago Fordham University alumni JPMorgan Chase people University of Chicago trustees Deputy mayors of New York City