Harry Jack Gray (November 18, 1919 – July 8, 2009) was an American business manager and philanthropist, best known as CEO and chairman of

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems, ...

. He was born Harry Jack Grusin in Milledgeville Crossroads,

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 ...

. His mother, Bertha Grusin, died of cancer when he was six years old. He went to live with his older sister, Gussie, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. His father's business failed when he was eight, and he financed his college education at the

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

with multiple jobs that included washing dishes, waiting tables, and stoking a boarding-house furnace. He graduated with a

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

degree in 1941, and immediately joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. His service included a year in the U.S. and three and a half years overseas during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He received the Silver Star for valor in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, and was discharged as a captain. Gray resumed his studies at U of I, completing a master's degree, with high honors, in 1947. He changed his last name to Gray in 1951. He worked in advertising and sales until joining Consolidated Electro Dynamics in 1954. That company grew in annual sales from $1 million to $20

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

and changed its name to

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. A ...

by the time he left its employ in 1971. He left Litton to become president, chief administrative officer, and a member of the board of directors, of

United Aircraft The United Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer formed by the break-up of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1934. In 1975, the company became United Technologies. History Pre-1930s 1930s The Air Mail scandal ...

. He was named chief executive officer the next year, then also served as chairman of UA and its successor

Corporation starting in 1974. In 1984

Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia. History Oglethorpe University was chartered in 1834 in Mid ...

honored him with the title of Doctor of Engineering in 1984. Shortly before his retirement from UTC in 1986, he also became the second recipient of an honorary doctorate from Central Connecticut State University. He then served as chairman and CEO of Harry Gray Associates, which participated with Shawmut National Venture in the 1993

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" the present equity holders of the target company. A buyout ...

of Mott Metallurgical Corporation. In retirement, he and his wife Helen contributed to organizations such as Hartford Hospital, University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, University of Illinois, Mark Twain House in Hartford and other organizations. He is also listed as the largest private donor to the construction of the National Infantry Museum in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

.Top donor to National Infantry Museum dies at 89
, ledger-enquirer.com; retrieved July 2009 Bronze

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

s of Gray and his wife are on display in the museum, which also houses his helmet and other memorabilia, including his Silver Star awarded for valor during the

. , Gray was also chairman of the boards of both Mott Corporation and SourceOne. Gray was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2003. Gray also served on the Board of Trustees at Sea Research Foundation (parent company of Mystic Aquarium) from 1997 until his death. Harry Gray died on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at the age of 89 at Hartford Hospital (in the city that is both Connecticut's capital city and UTC's headquarters' location).Harry Gray, Builder Of United Technologies Corp. And Philanthropist, Dies At 89
, courant.com; retrieved July 2009 According to Stephen Miller's remembrance article published in the Wall Street Journal two days later, he was "a merger artist who resented making just one deal at a time." Gray was both admired and feared as "The Grand Acquisitor". In the mid-1970s, his prime deal-making days as CEO and chairman of United Technologies Corp., Gray had maintained a list of the 50 companies he sought to acquire. Gray was always preoccupied with holding more companies. But he was equally intent on controlling what he had. Passing the torch at the mandatory retirement age of 65 was something he could not abide. "In this system, we don't need a No. 2 man," he once told Business Week.

References

Appointment of Harry Jack Gray as a Member of the President's Commission on Executive Exchange
at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Harry Jack 1919 births 2009 deaths American technology chief executives University of Illinois alumni University of Hartford people Recipients of the Silver Star