George Myles Cordell Fisher (born 1940 in

Anna, Illinois Anna is the largest community and retail trade center in Union County, Illinois, United States. Located in Southern Illinois, its population was 4,442 at the 2010 United States Census, a decline from 5,135 in 2000. It is known for being tied to i ...

) is an American business executive. He served as the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and chairman of

Eastman Kodak Company The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

from 1993 to 2000. Prior to joining Kodak, Fisher worked at Motorola, Inc. from 1976 to 1993 and was named president and chief executive officer in 1988 and chairman and CEO in 1990. Prior to joining Motorola, George was involved in research and development at Bell Laboratories for ten years. Fisher retired as a senior advisor at

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strat ...

after serving from 2003 to 2014.

Early life and education

Fisher was born on November 30, 1940, in Anna, Illinois. He graduated with a B.S. in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign, Illinois, Champai ...

in 1962 where he was a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta ...

fraternity. He received his M.S. in engineering in 1964 and a PhD in

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathema ...

in 1966, both from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Provide ...

Career

At the

, Fisher was recognized for leadership in electronic communications and corporate management. Fisher is a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy o ...

, having served two terms as chairman from 2000 to 2004, and is a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

. During Fisher’s tenure at Kodak, the company competed against Japanese markets and the rise of digital cameras. While director, Fisher claimed that

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from ...

had “rigged” Japanese markets and urged the US government to restrict trade with Japan to help Kodak in the US. Fisher also oversaw the development of APS film which proved to be a failure with consumers. He is a past member of the boards of

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

, American Express Company,

Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

, Delta Air Lines, Inc.,

, Eli Lilly & Company,

General Motors Corporation The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...

, Hughes Electronics Corporation, Motorola, Inc., Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, and

. He was also chairman of PanAmSat Corporation from 2004 to 2006. Fisher is a past member of the United States-China Business Council, serving as chairman from 1997 to 1999; and a member of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, serving as chairman from 1990 to 1993. Fisher was chairman of the Industry Policy Advisory Committee (IPAC) for the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He was an appointed member of the President’s Advisory Council for Trade Policy and Negotiations from 1993 to 2002 serving under both Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. He is a former member of the Advisory Board of Allianz International in Germany, an emeritus member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, and a former member of the Tsinghua University Executive Education Advisory Board in China. He was a member of the Board of The National Urban League, Inc. and the University of Illinois Foundation, where he served as chairman from 1997 to 1999.

References

External links

*
George M.C. Fisher Forbes article

George M.C. Fisher profile at Engineering at Illinois
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, George Myles Cordell 1940 births American chief executives University of Illinois alumni Brown University School of Engineering alumni Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Kodak people Motorola employees