Frank Hardart Murray (born 1953) is an American business executive. He is founder, president and chief executive officer of InterTech Media. In the 1990s, Murray was the chairman and CEO of Goodman Manufacturing Company and engineered Goodman's purchase of

Amana Corporation The Amana Corporation is an American brand of household appliances. It was founded in 1934 by George Foerstner as The Electrical Equipment Co. in Middle Amana, Iowa, to manufacture commercial walk-in coolers. The business was later owned by the A ...

from

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

and initiated Amana's successful brand-revitalization campaign.New York Time
Sale to remove Ratheon from Consumer Appliances
July 15, 1997 Under Murray, Goodman moved up

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

' list of 500 Biggest Private Companies from #405 to 66. Murray has an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

and a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics from

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

.Businesswee
Executive Profile: Frank H. Murray
/ref>

Early life

Born in New York City and raised in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

,HFN, The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Finishing Networ
Goodman: Amana stays upscale
July 28, 1997 Murray came from a family of entrepreneurs. He is named after his maternal great grandfather,

Frank Hardart Frank Hardart Sr. (October 22, 1850 – December 10, 1918) was the co-founder with Joseph V. Horn of Horn & Hardart, the food service company that launched the Horn & Hardart Automat cafeterias in Philadelphia and New York. Patrons at the Automats ...

, co-founder of

Horn & Hardart Horn & Hardart was a food services company in the United States noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore. Philadelphia's Joseph Horn (1861–1941) and German-born, New Orleans-raised Frank ...

, the company known for the

Automat An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drinks are served by vending machines. The world's first automat, Quisisana, opened in Berlin, Germany in 1895. By country Germany The first automat in the world was the Quisisana ...

s – the self serve cafeterias popular in Philadelphia and New York. On his father's side, he is the grandson of

William J. Murray William J. Murray III (born May 25, 1946) is an American author, Baptist minister, and Social conservatism in the United States, social conservative lobbyist who serves as the chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, a non-profit organizatio ...

and the great-grandson of

Samuel J. Murray Samuel J. Murray (March 7, 1851 – August 23, 1915) was a New York printer's apprentice, inventor, and businessman. At the time of his death at age sixty-five, Murray was vice president and treasurer of the United States Playing Card Company, and ...

, who revolutionized the manufacturing of playing cards through the

United States Playing Card Company The United States Playing Card Company (USPC, though also commonly known as USPCC) is a large American producer and distributor of playing cards. It was established in 1867 as Russell, Morgan & Co. and founded in its current incarnation in 1885. ...

. On his grandmother's side he is the great-grandson of

John F. Ahearn John F. Ahearn (April 18, 1853 – December 19, 1920) was an American politician and publisher. A prominent New York City political figure and a member of the Tammany Hall political machine, he served in the New York State Assembly, the New York ...

who was a prominent

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

leader and served as Manhattan Borough President from 1903–1909. His father, Samuel J. Murray, was a decorated veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Career

Early in his career, Murray was a partner in the

Beacon Group JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...

, a managing director of Mergers & Acquisitions at

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

and a vice president at

Dillon Read Dillon, Read & Co. was an investment bank based in New York City. In 1991, it was acquired by Barings Bank and, in 1997, it was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation, which was in turn acquired by UBS in 1998. History Carpenter & Vermilye Dillon Rea ...

. At Dillon Read, he was a key member in the defense team for

Unocal Corporation Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

which prevented a takeover-attempt by

T. Boone Pickens Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. (May 22, 1928 – September 11, 2019) was an American business magnate and financier. Pickens chaired the hedge fund BP Capital Management. He was a well-known takeover operator and corporate raider during the 1980 ...

' Mesa Petroleum in 1985. The case resulted in the

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...

landmark decision

Unocal v. Mesa Petroleum ''Unocal v. Mesa Petroleum Co.'', 493 A.2d 946 (Del. 1985) is a landmark decision of the Delaware Supreme Court on corporate defensive tactics against take-over bids. Until the ''Unocal'' decision in 1985, the Delaware courts had applied the bus ...

. He first came into contact with Goodman Manufacturing, the largest privately held heating and air conditioning company in the United States, as a financial adviser to Goodman's founder, Harold Goodman. When Harold Goodman died in January 1995, the Goodman family asked Murray to take his place as chairman and CEO at the company's headquarters in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, the following year. At the time, Goodman was the number four heating and air conditioning company behind

Carrier Corporation Carrier Global Corporation is an American multinational heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and fire and security equipment corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an independ ...

, and reaching market saturation. Murray saw Amana as "an opportunity to expand into new product lines with a well-known brand." The sale of Amana to Goodman was announced July 14, 1997. The deal included Amana's home appliance, commercial cooking and heating and air conditioning business, but not Raytheon's commercial laundry business. Amana was headquartered in Amana, Iowa, and had 5,500 employees. In keeping with his promise to "enhance the Amana brand," Murray initiated a $20 million brand revitalization campaign for the long dormant Amana brand, by

DDB Worldwide DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

's New York branch. The ads, with the tag, "Built Better Than It Has To Be," featured female comedians, including Mad TV's

Debra Wilson Debra Wilson, also known as Debra Wilson Skelton or Debra Skelton, is an American actress and comedian. She is known for being the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series ''Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's firs ...

, on a bright pastel-colored background, talking about mishaps with refrigerators, ranges and washers and dryers and how Amana features can solve them. Murray left Goodman in 1999 to return to his Connecticut roots and in 2000, launched InterTech Media. InterTech "is the world's fastest growing provider of Internet-based services to media companies. With more than 1,200 client radio and television station clients."

Personal life

In 1993, Murray married

Sachi Parker Stephanie Sachiko Parker (born September 1, 1956) is an American actress who has film and television credits. Early life Parker was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of actress Shirley MacLaine and businessman Steve Parker (1922– ...

, daughter of

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

and Steve Parker. They lived for a while in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, while Murray was the chairman and CEO of Goodman Holdings and Amana Appliances. The couple divorced in 2011. The couple have two children, a son, Frank Murray Jr. (born 1996), and a daughter, Arin Murray (born 1998).HGTV Selling New York, New Beginnings, New Homes Episode HSNY-408H

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Frank H. 1953 births Living people American people of German descent American people of Irish descent Businesspeople from New York (state) Harvard Business School alumni American chief executives of manufacturing companies Ohio Wesleyan University alumni