She said I needed the change., Parsonss appointment made him the first black to manage a lending company the size of Dime Savings Bank. . Vol. Richard Parsons has become one of the most prominent figures in American business, without rising through the usual ranks required to reach a high-level corporate position. He has claimed that race was never a defining character in his life. Dawn Bennett-Alexander assisted Parsons from March 1976 until the end of the administration. It is like air. Business Week Online.http://www.buisnessweek.com/magazine/content/03_20/b3833001_m2001.htm (Accessed 2 December 2005). Never. Decker, Ed; Minderovic, Christine "Parsons, Richard Dean 1948 Parsons worked part-time as a janitor to pay his way through the University of Albany Law School in New York, and when he graduated in 1971, it was at the top of his class. Richard Dean "Dick" Parsons was born in Brooklyn, New York. He became the first African American male to manage a financial institution of Dime's size and reduce the bank's debt from $1 billion to $335 million. CNNMoney.com (December 5, 2001) http://money.cnn.com/2001/12/05/ceos/parsons_profile (accessed on July 29, 2004). In April 1976 when Kathleen Ryan left the Domestic Council, responsibility for consumer affairs was given to Parsons' office. In the latter post, Parsons focused on drug issues. Listen to article. In June 2016, Parsons was appointed Board Chair of The Rockefeller Foundation, a foundation promoting the well-being of humanity worldwide. Parsons worked at various odd jobs, including in a parking garage and gas company to support himself while at the University of Hawaii. Born in Midland, Texas, Bush graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in education, and took a job as a second grade teacher. Graduated from Princeton University in 2006 . [24], Parsons was a member of the economic advisory team for President Barack Obama. CNNMoney.com. In the same Business Week interview, the CEO revealed, "I take this job seriously. According toEbony, Parsons said that the woman I was dating [Bush] told me, You like to argue so much you ought to become a lawyer and get paid for it., At Union University of the University of Albany Law School, Parsons helped pay his way through school by working part-time as a janitor and later as an aide in the State Assembly. By the mid-2000s, however, analysts reported that Time Warner was on a definite upswing: employee morale was high, investors were newly confident, and the monstrous debt had been significantly slashed. He became an advisory trustee of the family's principal philanthropy, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and he sits with David Rockefeller on the board of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. agreed that friendly giant Richard Parsons had been just what the fractured titan needed. Parsons was urged by Harry Albright Jr. to become the chief operating officer of the Dime Savings Bank in 1988 with a salary of $525,000 annually. When Rudolph Giuliani (1944) was elected mayor of New York in 1993, Parsons headed his transitional council; he served on the transition team when Michael Bloomberg (1942) became the mayor of New York in 2001; and that same year, he was named co-chair of President George W. Bush's Social Security Commission. They credit him with keeping employees informed every step of the way, producing videos for employee distribution. In his 11 years with the firm, he made his mark in both corporate law and civil litigation. Skeptics also wondered how Parsons would fare in his new job considering the bank was facing financial ruin. This political stance was consistent with his rejection of the Democrats philosophy. [CDATA[ In turn, Time Warner would have unlimited access to the ever-expanding Internet pipeline. During his 11 years at the firm Parsons took on Happy Rockefeller, the widow of Nelson (who had died in 1979) as a high-profile client. Parsons later became chairman and CEO[8] and oversaw a merger with Anchor Savings Bank, gaining a substantial sum when the Dime Bank was demutualized. NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 18: L to R: Stephen Byrd and Jessye Norman, Laura Bush Parsons and Richard Parsons attend Apollo Club Harlem at The Apollo Theater on February 18, 2013 in New York City. The bank had suffered a series of losses due to the drastic devaluation of New York City real estate in the late 1980s, and during the previous year it had lost $92.3 million. Some top officials at the bank questioned his appointment, both because of his lack of experience in the banking industry and his previous work in government that made him likely to leave the company for the political arena. I like to be with the troops.. Time Warner faced its biggest challenge in 2000 when it announced plans to merge with America Online (AOL), which by the late 1990s had evolved into the nation's leading Internet provider. Laura Bush Remembers the First Time She Met George and When He Proposed "I knew George was going to ask," the former first lady told The Wall Street Journal. As part of his management restructure, Parsons opted to lay off almost one-third of the Dime's staff. Lauren Bush Lauren was born on June 25, 1984 in Texas, USA. Over the years Parsons has, however, admitted the possibility of entering politics later in life. Assets: $47.4 billion He joined the foundation's Board of Trustees in 2008. In mid-2003, he sold off parts of the company that were considered to be noncore assets, including the sports teams, the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers. When departing Deputy Attorney General Harold R. Tyler, Jr., became a partner at a well-established New York City law firm in 1977, he asked Parsons to come on board. Addresses: Office AOL Time Warner, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019. council and then as associate director of the domestic council. As a result, Dime Bancorp became the largest thrift institution on the East Coast and the fourth largest in the United States. [6] He skipped a grade in elementary school and another in high school. As Parsons said in the New York Times in 1994, becoming a part of that Rockefeller entourage created for me a group of people whove looked out for me ever since. Parsons own concern for the underprivileged has been clearly shown by his work as chairman of the Wildcat Service Corporation, which has provided on-the-job instruction for people whose previous crimes, drug addiction, or poverty have made it difficult to find work. Parsons later became Chairman and CEO and oversaw a merger with Anchor Savings Bank. His maternal grandfather had been head groundskeeper at the John D. Rockefeler estate, Kykuit. He was again entering an industry that was new to him, and some doubted his qualifications. My wife became my focus and the person to whom I owed my best. His plans to become a fighter pilot were redirected to law school largely due to Bushs influence. ." Member of the board of directors of Dime Savings Bank, Federal National Mortgage Association, Philip Morris Companies, Time Warner lnc., New York Zoological Society, and American Television & Communications Inc.; trustee of Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Howard University, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. 23 Feb. 2023 . I have other things I'm focused on." [8] He helped negotiate the company's merger with America Online in 2000, creating a $165-billion media conglomerate[10] that is "usually described as the worst merger of all time. Financial Times, December 8, 2001, p. 13. He was the first black president and one of the highest-ranking blacks in corporate America. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Michael Rogers is a salesman for Oracle software, In this segment, he shares career advice through the software industry. The position placed him second in command over the entire Time Warner holdings in magazine and book publishing, music, film entertainment, theme parks, and cable television. After Giuliani was elected, he named Parsons to be head of his transition council. This opportunity with Time Warner is a once in a lifetime one. It was a drastic move, but he also kept communications open with his employees every step of the way. . He served as assistant counsel to Governor Rockefeller from 1971 to 1974 and was called to the New York State bar in 1972. There are a number of other black executives who have elevated positions in corporate America, said Parsons in Black Enterprise. Parsons's tenure with Rockefeller and Ford opened up many doors for him and brought him to nationwide attention as an up-and-coming young executive. In 2001, United States President George W. Bush selected Parsons to co-chair a commission on Social Security. As he told Cohen, "Ideally, you want to underpromise and overdeliver. https://www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parsons-richard, "Parsons, Richard I dont do anything differently than I would otherwise because I have that responsibility to my family, he told the New York Times in 1994. But, in this case, Parsons sits at the helm of one of the largest media companies in the world, Time Warner. [13] He is chairman of the advisory board of Feigen Advisors, a CEO advisory firm run by Marc Feigen. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Carlson School of Management, +1 more. warren central student killed 2022. . She has been featured on the covers of Vogue and Vanity Fair and has frequently modelled for Tommy Hilfiger, as well as for Abercrombie & Fitch and designers Gai Mattiolo and Isaac Mizrahi. Served as assistant counsel to Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Albany, NY, 197174; called to the New York State Bar, 1972; appointed deputy counsel to the vice president, Washington, DC, 1975; general counsel and associate director of the White House Domestic Council, 197577; Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler (law firm), New York, NY, attorney, 197788, became partner, 1979; Dime Savings Bank of New York (became Dime Bancorp, 1995), New York, NY, chief operating officer, 198890, chairman and chief executive officer, 199095; named head of mayor-elect transition council, New York, NY, 1993; served as chairman of New York Citys Economic Development Corporation; Time Warner Inc., New York, NY, president, 1995 Member of presidential Drug Task Force; chairman, Wildcat Service Organization. However, he discovered that he could get into a law school in New York without a college degree if he scored well enough on his pre-law exams. [7] After four years, he was seven credits short of his diploma. Richard Dean Parsons was born on April 4, 1948, in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in the rough neighborhood of Jamaica, New York, a city in Queens County. In Washington, the young lawyer also worked directly with President Gerald Ford (1913), first as general counsel and then as an associate director of the domestic council. In 1988, he was recruited to serve as a chief operating officer of the Dime Savings Bank of New York. In 1977, he returned to New York, and at the request of former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Harold R. Tyler Jr., he joined the law firm of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. "Parsons, Richard (February 23, 2023). Encyclopedia.com. Beginning his legal career as an aide on New York governor Nelson Rockefellers legal staff, Parsons made a very favorable impression on the governor. Named president of Dime Savings Bank of New York in 1988 even though he had had no previous experience in the banking industry, he masterminded a turnaround at the bank in just a few years. Under his tutelage the bank staged a remarkable comeback, largely through his massive overhauling of the banks management systems and work force. http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/GUIDES/Finding%20Aids/Parsons,%20Richard%20%20Files (Accessed 7 December 2005). He stepped down as CEO of Time Warner on December 31, 2007. "AOL Time Warner Still Fixing Holes." Parsons credits his experiences at the University of Hawaii as preparation for his future in corporate America. Decker, Ed "Parsons, Richard Dean 1948 ", Analysts wondered about the future of AOL even as Parsons continued to play peacemaker, overseeing Monday morning meetings with his various managers and promising harmony between teams. They credit him with keeping employees informed every step of the way, at one point even producing several videos that were distributed to employees. When Albright departed the Dime, Parsons became chairman and CEO. In the May 1975 reorganization, his area of responsibility was divided, and Parsons became associate director for justice, crime, civil rights, and communications (communications was transferred to F. Lynn May in January of 1976). https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parsons-richard-dean-1948-0, Decker, Ed; Minderovic, Christine "Parsons, Richard Dean 1948 "Richard Parsons: Profile." Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. In the early 1990s he became president of Time Warner Inc., making him one of the most highly ranked African Americans in the corporate United States. 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