Theodore F. Brophy (1923 - 2020) was an American businessman and telecommunications professional. He joined

GTE GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...

in 1958, became the president in 1972, and the chairman and

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 ...

in 1976. While chairman and chief executive officer of GTE, he strongly opposed trade protectionism and he took steps to reduce threat of a

corporate raid In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to t ...

or " greenmailing". In August 1988, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appointed him as an

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

while serving as the chairman of a United States delegation for radio and satellite space communications during an international conference. In October 1985, President Reagan also appointed him Chairman of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee for a period of one year.''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan 1985, Book II - June 29 to December 31, 1985'', published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, 1988, Appendix A, page 1519. He served on the committee 1986–88. Throughout his career, he held various board and trustee positions.

Early life and education

Brophy was born on August 23, 1923 in New York City, New York. He graduated from

Kent School Kent School is a private, co-educational, college preparatory boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, United States. Frederick Herbert Sill established the school in 1906. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States. Acade ...

, Kent, Connecticut in 1941,

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 ...

in 1944 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1949. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1944 to 1946 and was on the submarine USS Cabezon (SS-334) in the South Pacific during World War II. While in the Navy, he rose to the rank of

lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is ...

Early career

He worked for the law firm Root, Ballantine, Harlan, Bushby and Palmer from 1949 to 1955. He was

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 ...

for the Lummus Company from 1955 to 1958.

Later life

Brophy died August 3, 2020 in Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brophy, Theodore F. 1923 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Ambassadors of the United States American telecommunications industry businesspeople Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut Harvard Law School alumni Kent School alumni United States Navy officers Yale University alumni