Richard Parsons was a prominent figure in corporate America, having held top positions at Time Warner and Citigroup.
Parsons didn’t see his race as a key aspect of his success story. “For a lot of people, race is a defining issue. It just isn’t for me,” he said in 1997, “It is… like air. It’s like height. I have other things that I’m focused on.″
Parsons was known for his negotiation skills and crisis management.
Parsons began his career as a lawyer for former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and served as a White House aide during President Gerald Ford’s administration. He later became an economic advisor to President Barack Obama and worked on the transition team for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Upon returning to New York, he rose quickly at the law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler before transitioning to the banking industry as CEO of Dime Savings Bank of New York.
He successfully steered Citigroup back to profitability after the global financial crisis and helped restore Time Warner following its troubled acquisition by AOL.
On December 3, he resigned from the boards of Lazard and Estée Lauder due to health reasons, having served on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years.
He struggled with health issues for several years before he passed away from cancer complications on December 26th.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
