Jerry York (businessman)

Jerry York
Born Jerome Bailey York
(1938-06-22)June 22, 1938[1]
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Died March 18, 2010(2010-03-18) (aged 71)[1]
Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater United States Military Academy at West Point
University of Michigan
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jerome Bailey York (June 22, 1938 – March 18, 2010), commonly known as Jerry York, was an American businessman, and the Chairman, President and CEO of Harwinton Capital. He was the former CFO of IBM[1] and Chrysler, and was CEO of Micro Warehouse. He was a chief aide to Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda investment company.[1] In February 2006, Kerkorian helped elect York to the board of directors of General Motors, from which he had previously resigned.[1]

Biography

York was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1938[1] and lived in Oakland Township, Michigan. He earned degrees from the United States Military Academy at West Point,[1] the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,[1] and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business,[1] and was trained as an engineer. A gymnastics injury prevented York from serving in the military.[2]

York eventually became the CFO at Chrysler. When Lee Iacocca retired as Chrysler CEO in 1992, York was a leading candidate to succeed him.[3] After being passed over as Chrysler CEO, York became CFO of IBM Corporation. He later served as a special adviser to investor Kirk Kerkorian during Kerkorian's 2007 failed takeover bid for Chrysler and his other investments in Ford Motor Company and General Motors where he previously served as a board member from February to October 2006 before resigning over frustration resulting from GM's failure to distribute materials to the Board in advance of its meetings and a reluctance to implement change recommendations, including the shedding of peripheral brands,[4] which GM ultimately affected during bankruptcy in the form of terminating the Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer brands (after a failed sale attempt to Chinese Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery) and the sale of its SAAB division to Spyker Cars.[5]

From 1999 to 2003, York was Chairman and CEO of Micro Warehouse,[6] which went bankrupt. He was also on the board of Apple Inc. after Steve Jobs' comeback in 1997.[7]

York was also an enthusiast of alternative energy, particularly wind energy. He was the CFO and a Member of the Board at USWind, a wind energy company of which he was a co-founder and active management team member. York believed that moving the turbine from adjacent to the blades to on the ground, by using a series of conveyor belts, would significantly increase height, decrease weight, and improve efficiency of wind power generation.

York was also part of a team developing the next generation portable computer.

York was hospitalized on March 17, 2010 after collapsing in his suburban Detroit home from a brain aneurysm.[8] He died the next day.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 MICHELINE MAYNARD (March 18, 2010). "Jerome B. York, Former Auto Executive, Dies at 71". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  2. ↑ Bloomberg News (March 19, 2010). "Jerome York, executive with Apple, Chrysler and IBM, dies at 71". The Washington Post.
  3. ↑ STEPHEN MILLER and JOANN S. LUBLIN (March 19, 2010). "Turnaround Expert Jerome York Dies at 71". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2020-03-20. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ "Resignation Letter". October 9, 2006. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202503/http://www.autonews.com/article/20100317/OEM02/100319902/1179. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "Apple director, ex-auto executive York dies". The Washington Post. Associated Press. March 19, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  7. ↑ "Apple Director Jerome B. York Passes Away" (Press release). Apple Inc. March 18, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  8. ↑ Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin (March 18, 2010). "Apple director, ex-auto executive York dies". Bradenton Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
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