John Cocks (Jack) Bierwirth (21 January 1924 in

Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Lawrence is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 6,483. The Village of Lawre ...

– 26 May 2013 in Freeport, New York) was an American lawyer and businessman. Bierwirth was an attorney by education, and a banking and financial expert by trade. He was best known as the

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 ...

of Grumman during the 1970s and 1980s, a period of considerable reduction and downsizing in defense- and space-related industries.

Biography

Bierwirth began his advanced schooling at Yale University, but it was interrupted by World War II. He joined the Navy, ending his service with the rank of Lt (j.g.). He completed his undergraduate schooling at Yale, receiving a degree in 1947 (Class of 45W), then enrolled at Columbia Law School, where he received a JD in 1950. He began his business career with White & Case, a New York City law firm. He then moved to the New York Trust Company (later merged into

Chemical bank Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world. Beginning ...

), where he became expert in banking-related legal matters. Bierwirth later joined National Distillers & Chemical Corporation, where he was responsible for creating petrochemical operations in Japan, Taiwan, Belgium, Brazil, Finland and Yugoslavia, and in increasing petrochemical operations in Northern Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. In 1972 Bierwirth left ND&CC to become Treasurer of the Grumman Corporation and, four months later, President. He was named chairman and

three years later. He was reportedly brought on board to assist the beleaguered company in staving off almost-certain bankruptcy. His first assignment was to renegotiate contracts which the company held with the Navy for production of the F-14 "Tomcat" fighter jet. By 1973 he was successful, although the revised contract sparked congressional criticism. He sold Gulfstream, a highly profitable business-jet unit in 1978, justifying the action by stating that Grumman "desperately needed" the cash infusion. In 1981 he fended off a takeover attempt by

LTV LTV may refer to: Television * Lagos Television, a TV channel in Nigeria. * Latvijas Televīzija, Latvian Television * LRT televizija, formerly LTV, Lithuanian National Television * LTV Ethiopia, a private satellite TV channel in Ethiopia * Lumi ...

, which was lauded by the company's workforce but initially criticized by some of the company's stockholders. In fact, LTV, a high-flying conglomerate had a largely underfunded pension plan. Grumman's was overfunded. LTV sought to solve its pension problem and planned to skim off the excess. He attempted to diversify the company's area of business, building trucks for the US Postal Service, canoes for the recreational market, and city buses for Flxible. Bierwirth retired from Grumman in 1988, after rising from Treasurer to president, then to Chief Executive, and finally chairman of the company. He lived in Lawrence, where he was born, for the remainder of his life. He died in a Freeport

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

of congestive heart failure.

Personal

Bierwirth married Marion Bierwirth in 1947. She survived him, as also did their four children, John, Warren, Marion and Susan. He enjoyed sports, participating on college baseball and squash racket teams. In later life he enjoyed tennis and fly fishing. He participated in public service projects as well. He was on the delegation which eventually persuaded the Russians to leave Afghanistan. He,

Cyrus Vance Cyrus Roberts Vance Sr. (March 27, 1917January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States Deputy Secretary of ...

and Brent Scowcroft formed a committee to work with the People's Republic of China to further the peace process in East Asia. As Vance and Scowcroft took other assignments, Jack became chairman of the US side, which continued for several years. He served on the boards of many environmental organizations, the

Yale–China Association The Yale-China Association (), formerly Yale-in-China, is an independent, nonprofit organization which seeks to develop educational programs in and about China and further understanding between Chinese and American people. Founded in 1901 and ...

and Adelphi University.
"John C. Bierwirth, former Grumman exec, dies at 89", ''Newsday'', 28 May 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bierwirth, John 1924 births 2013 deaths Hotchkiss School alumni Yale University alumni Northrop Grumman Directors of Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman people People from Lawrence, Nassau County, New York American chief executives of manufacturing companies Columbia Law School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II