John Francis McGillicuddy (December 30, 1930 – January 4, 2009) was an American

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

ing industry executive who oversaw the merger between

Manufacturers Hanover Trust Manufacturers Hanover Corporation was the bank holding company formed as parent of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, a large New York bank formed by a merger in 1961. After 1969, Manufacturers Hanover Trust became a subsidiary of Manufa ...

and

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 ...

in the early 1990s. McGillicuddy played football for

Harrison High School Harrison High School may refer to: in the United States ''(by state)'' *Harrison High School (Harrison, Arkansas), listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Harrison High School (Colorado Springs) — Colorado Springs, Colorado * Har ...

and then attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

on a football scholarship, playing defensive back on the college's undefeated football teams in 1950 and 1951. His roommate at Princeton was fellow football player

Dick Kazmaier Richard William Kazmaier Jr. (November 23, 1930 – August 1, 2013) was an American businessman and naval lieutenant. He played college football at Princeton University from 1949 through 1951 and was the winner of the 1951 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell ...

, who won the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

for 1951. John McGillicuddy later attended

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 ...

and was hired by the law firm of

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is an international white shoe law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm specializes in litigation and corporate practices, particularly mergers and acquisitions, with over 1,000 attorneys in 11 offices worl ...

after serving 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 ...

.Dash, Eric
"John F. McGillicuddy, 78, Banking Leader, Is Dead"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 6, 2009. Accessed January 8, 2009. He was hired by Manufacturers Trust Company in 1958. He was elected to serve as the bank's president in 1970 at age 39, making him one of the youngest people ever to run a major banking company, after his predecessor R. E. McNeil, Jr. announced that he would be stepping down.Heinemann, H. Erich
"Personality:; 'New Kid' to Lead Manufacturers Hanover"
''

'', July 5, 1970. Accessed January 8, 2009. During New York City's fiscal crisis during the 1970s, McGillicuddy helped organize the financial aid needed to bail out the city. He later played a key role in the late 1970s in the Bailout of Chrysler, working to organize the government loan guarantees that helped that company avoid bankruptcy. Scoreboard at McGillicuddy Stadium 2011

In 1991, as chairman and chief executive of Manufacturers Hanover, McGillicuddy was the chief architect of a merger with the Chemical Banking Corporation that was the largest bank merger in the United States to that time, helping both companies deal with difficulties arising from problem loans in previous years. Following the merger, McGillicuddy became the chairman and chief executive of the combined institution, remaining with the bank until his retirement in 1993 when he was to be followed by

Walter V. Shipley Walter Vincent Shipley II (November 2, 1935 – January 11, 2019) was the chairman and chief executive officer of Chase Manhattan Bank and, previous to that, the company with which it merged Chemical Bank. Shipley was named chief executive of Ch ...

, who had been the chairman of Chemical.Quint, Michael
"The Bank Merger; BIG BANK MERGER TO JOIN CHEMICAL, MANUFACTURERS "
''

'', July 16, 1991. Accessed January 8, 2009. "Chemical Bank and Manufacturers Hanover, two of New York's biggest banks, announced plans yesterday for the largest bank merger in American history." The merger ushered in a wave of consolidation in the banking industry that continued with Chemical purchasing

Chase Manhattan Corporation JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fina ...

and assuming that company's name in 1996 and a December 2000 deal with J.P. Morgan & Co. that formed JPMorgan Chase & Co. McGillicuddy served on the boards of organizations and companies including the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

and

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

. McGillicuddy died at age 78 on January 4, 2009, at his home in

Harrison, New York Harrison is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, northeast of Manhattan. The population was 28,218 at the 2020 census. History Harrison was established in 1696 by a patent granted by the British government to John Harrison a ...

due to complications from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

. He was survived by his wife, the former Constance Burtis, five children and six grandchildren. McGillicuddy is interred at Greenwood Union Cemetery.

References

External links

Journal News Obituary for John McGillicuddy
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGillicuddy, John American bankers Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from prostate cancer Harvard Law School alumni Princeton Tigers football players 1930 births 2009 deaths Simpson Thacher & Bartlett