Harvey R. Blau (November 14, 1935 – January 19, 2018) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

attorney and

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. He was the

Chairman of the Board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and former

CEO 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 ...

Griffon Corporation Griffon Corporation is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in New York City. The company conducts its operations through five subsidiaries: The AMES Companies, ClosetMaid, Clopay Building Products, CornellCookson, and Telephonics Corp ...

(formerly Instrument Systems Corporation). He became a practicing attorney in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1961, and in 1966 was the founding partner of the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

Blau Kramer Wactlar & Lieberman PC in

Jericho, New York Jericho is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island, approximately 29 miles (47 km) east of Midtown Manhattan. Its population was 13,567 as of the U.S. 2010 Cen ...

Biography

Blau was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He graduated from the U.S. Army Infantry School in

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in 1958, and served as a

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in the

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until 1966. After receiving an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, a J.D. from

Columbia University School of Law Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

, and an LL.M. from

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

, Blau clerked for Judge

Irving Ben Cooper Irving Ben Cooper (February 7, 1902 – September 17, 1996) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and education Bor ...

and worked as

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

in the

Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New Y ...

in the mid-1960s. Blau joined Griffon – then known as Instrument Systems Corporation (ISC) – as

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

in 1966. After Edward Garrett's death in 1982, Blau was appointed

and

in 1983. Under Blau's leadership, ISC grew to a large diversified conglomerate whose wholly owned subsidiaries produced garage doors, clothing, specialty plastics, and aerospace and defense electronics. He transformed the company by accelerating a divestiture and cost-cutting plan, strengthening profitable existing lines of business, and aggressively seeking new business. In 1995, Blau renamed ISC as

, a name inspired by the mythical half-eagle, half-lion symbolizing the combined strengths of the company's different subsidiaries. Blau retired as CEO in March 2008 and was succeeded by

Ron Kramer Ronald John Kramer (June 24, 1935 – September 11, 2010) was a multi-sport college athlete and professional American football player. Kramer attended the University of Michigan from 1953 to 1957, winning a total of nine varsity letters in fo ...

, who had married Blau's daughter Stephanie in 1992. Kramer had served on the company's board of directors since 1993 and was elected Vice Chairman in 2003. In addition to his role at Griffon, Blau served as

and

Aeroflex Incorporated Aeroflex Inc. was an American company which produced test equipment, RF and microwave integrated circuits, components and systems used for wireless communications. Its headquarters were located in Plainview, New York. In May 2014, Aeroflex wa ...

, a manufacturer of electronic components and test equipment, from 2002 to 2007 and as mayor, deputy mayor, and trustee of the Village of Old Westbury, New York. In 2010, Blau and his wife received the Theodore Roosevelt Award at the Legal Aid Society's Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner.

Personal life

In 1964, he married Arlene Joan Garrett, the daughter of Griffon's then

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and

Edward J. Garrett, in a

ceremony at the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The couple had three children: Stephanie (married to

), Melissa Blau, and Victoria Blau Orlin (married to Paul Orlin). Blau died on January 19, 2018 at age 82. Services were held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blau, Harvey 2018 deaths 1935 births 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American investors American chief executives 20th-century American Jews American corporate directors Businesspeople from New York (state) Military personnel from New York (state) New York (state) lawyers Columbia Law School alumni New York University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American Jews