Richard Lee Gelb (b. June 8 1924, d. April 4 2004) was an American businessman from

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 ...

. He was a consultant and director of various corporations and

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

entities, and from 1960 to his retirement in 1995 was a senior executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

Biography

Gelb was born in New York City, graduated from

Phillips Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, and

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 lived most of his life in New York’s

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

. He was former director of the

New York Life Insurance Company New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company in the United States, the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and is ranked #67 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United State ...

The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. T ...

, Bessemer Securities Corporation and

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...

. He was Chairman Emeritus since 1995, Chairman from 1976 to 1995, President from 1967 to 1976, Chief Executive Officer from 1972 to 1993 and a Director since 1960, of the healthcare company Bristol-Myers Squibb. Gelb died of cancer in 2004.

Philanthropic work

Gelb was director emeritus of

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, former director of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, former vice chairman of the Board of Overseers and Board of Managers of

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

, a member of the board of directors of the

Citizens Crime Commission of New York City The Citizens Crime Commission of New York City (Crime Commission) is an independent, non-profit, nonpartisan organization focused on criminal justice and public safety policy reform. The Crime Commission’s recent education and advocacy efforts h ...

and trustee emeritus of the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park ...

. He helped to found the

New York City Police Foundation The New York City Police Foundation was established in 1971 by business and civic leaders as a nonprofit tax-exempt charity that could raise money to spend on projects supporting NYPD reform and modernization efforts as well as helping improve its ...

with Mayor John V. Lindsay. With his brother, Bruce, Gelb also ran the Lawrence M. Gelb Foundation, a family philanthropic foundation named for his father that supported education, cultural programs and hospitals.

Publications

*''Your Future in Beauty Culture'',

References

External links

Richard L. Gelb Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gelb, Richard Lee 1924 births 2004 deaths American consultants People from the Upper East Side New York Racing Association executives American chief executives Phillips Academy alumni Yale University alumni Harvard Business School alumni Gelb family Bristol Myers Squibb Federal Reserve Bank of New York