degree from Union University's Albany Law School in 1971. He is a Black business executive and lawyer. He is also Chair of the Apollo Theater Foundation and co-chair of the advisory board of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. [24], Parsons was a member of the economic advisory team for President Barack Obama. ." Just before Parsons officially took over from Levin in May of 2002, the company posted a quarterly loss of $54 billion, the largest in U.S. history. You cant give something to somebody to have, said Parsons in the same article. 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. Named president of Dime Savings Bank of New York in 1988 even though he had no previous experience in the banking industry, he masterminded a turnaround at the bank in just a few years. Standing at 6 feet 4 inches, with broad shoulders, he is a physically impressive man who could fill any boardroom. on August 30, 1968. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parsons-richard. 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. . They have three grown children: Gregory, Leslie and Rebecca. . "Renaming our company will strengthen the identity of the AOL brand name among consumers," the CEO said in a written statement reported on CNNMoney.com. He was born on April 4, 1948, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in the New York borough of Queens. [9], Parsons was chairman of Citigroup from February 23, 2009[12] until April 2012 when he was replaced by Michael O'Neill. 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. in history from the University of Hawaii in 1968. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Parsons along with former U.S. senator Daniel Moynihan to a commission to strengthen Social Security Program changes. As he told Cohen, "Ideally, you want to underpromise and overdeliver. CNNMoney.com (December 5, 2001) http://money.cnn.com/2001/12/05/ceos/parsons_profile (accessed on July 29, 2004). ." Black Firsts. He has claimed that race was never a defining character in his life. After his announcement as interim Clippers CEO in L.A. last week, the millionaire businessman reportedly flew back to the East Coast to be by her side as she underwent a medical procedure on Tuesday. Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Richard Dean Parsons, CEO and president of the AOL-Time Warner Corporation, emerged through academic and corporate circles to become one of the most successful African Americans in corporate America. Encyclopedia.com. [3], Parsons was born to an African-American family in Brooklyn, New York City, on April 4, 1948. In the same Business Week interview, the CEO revealed, "I take this job seriously. Among his clients were such high-profile figures as Happy Rockefeller and the cosmetics queen EsteeLauder. Peter J. As a result, Dime Bancorp became the largest thrift institution on the East Coast and the fourth largest in the United States. In April 1976 when Kathleen Ryan left the Domestic Council, responsibility for consumer affairs was given to Parsons' office. In his 11 years with the firm, he made his mark in both corporate law and civil litigation. ." Parsons, who owns a home on Block Island, is a child psychologist. UXL Newsmakers. (2 minutes) Former President George W. Bush, 74, is the author of "Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants" (Crown). In 1977 deputy attorney general Harold R. Tyler Jr. requested Parsons to come aboard at Patterson, Belknap, Webb, & Tyler where he became a partner in two years, a move that usually demands seven years. Contemporary Black Biography. Bell, Gregory S., "Richard Dean Parsons." As he told Ebony, I have never missed a single day of work in my life. ." Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Editorial #: Parsons also remained a committed leader in other areas of public and community service. Dl, D6. Career: Served as assistant counsel to Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Albany, NY, 1971-74; 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, 1975-77; Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler (law firm), New York, NY, attorney, 1977-88, became partner, 1979; Dime Savings Bank of New York (became Dime Bancorp, 1995), chief operating officer, 1988-90, chairman and chief executive officer, 1990-95; named head of mayor-elect transition council, 1993; served as chairman of New York Citys Economic Development Corporation; Time Warner Inc., president, 1995-99; AOL Time Warner, co-chief operating officer, 1999-2002, AOL Time Warner, CEO, 2002-. He also serves as chairman of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Parsons answered these reservations by promising to devote his full attention to his new $525, 000-a-year post. 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. Colleagues say Parsons management style helped smooth the painful layoffs that he had to make, wrote Fonda Marie Lloyd and Mark Lowery in Black Enterprise.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. J. Bruce Llewellyns career history might be viewed as a virtual microcosm of twentieth-century minority, Attorney, broadcasting executive, elected official BusinessWeek Online (May 19, 2003) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_20/b3833001_mz001.htm (accessed on July 29, 2004). In 2006, Parsons was selected to co-chair the transition team for the incoming Governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer. ." The merger created the fourth largest thrift institution in the nation and the largest on the East Coast, with assets worth $20 billion. In his spare time he enjoys shooting pool and listening to music. Its a venue to which I could see myself returning at some point in time, he told the New York Times in 1994, referring to public service as the highest calling, large and important work.. He served as assistant counsel to Governor Rockefeller from 1971 to 1974 and was called to the New York State bar in 1972. Harry Albright Jr., Rockefeller's executive assistant in Albany, New York and previous chairman of the Dime Savings Bank, cited Parsons as a great member of Rockefeller's staff and one who has great judgment and leadership skills. Later that year, it was announced that Parsons had been selected as CEO of America Online. The merger was made official in 2001, when AOL purchased Time Warner for a reported $168 billion. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. It just isn't for me. In 1999, when AOL and Time Warner merged, parsons became the co-chief operating officer, a position shared with Bob Pittman. He stepped down as CEO of Time Warner on December 31, 2007. His 43 . Landler, Mark "Watch Your Back, Mr. Parsons" Business Week (14 November 1994): 38-39. In just a few years he reduced the Dimes $1 billion in bad debts to $335 million. Born April 4, 1948, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Lorenzo Locklair and Isabelle Parsons; married Laura Ann Bush, August 30, 1968; children: Gregory, Leslie, Rebecca. Not one. Also fueling his rise were connections he has made with important people over the years. Apparently it was the right decision. Meanwhile, he answered complaints from colleagues at the Dime that he was deserting them. 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. Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush's daughter Barbara Bush gave birth to her first baby with husband Craig Coyne on Monday By Mary Park Published on September 29, 2021 11:42 AM Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area. Ed Decker and Christine Miner Minderovic. This opportunity with Time Warner is a once in a lifetime one. Addresses: Office Time-Warner Inc., 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY. Training And Servicing Center. Parsons became a partner in just two years at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, a move that typically demanded seven years. Contemporary Black Biography. Powers, New York Citys First Deputy Mayor at the time, complemented Parsonss leadership skills in the New York Times, noting that Parsons really knows how to bring people together and find common ground. Mayor Giuliani later asked Parsons to become his deputy mayor for Economic Development. It is like air. There are a number of other black executives who have elevated positions in corporate America, said Parsons inBlack Enterprise.The process is rolling forward, even if it isnt moving as fast as some of us would like. Despite his distinction as a high-ranking black in business, Parsons downplays the racial aspects of his success. At the same time people speculated about what role Parsons would play in Time Warner's future. Stock Index: New York Whether I was an African-American, an Arab-American, a Je wish-American, or some other American, there are a lot of people who I cannot let down, so you have to live your life a certain way to be a role model to the people who are important to you., After a year-long governmental review, Internet company America Online (AOL) and Time Warner merged in 2001. In turn, Time Warner would have unlimited access to the ever-expanding Internet pipeline. 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. Encyclopedia.com. In 1994, Gerald Levin (1939), chairman of Time Warner (TW), openly recruited Parsons to take over as president of the company. Wall Street Journal, May 8, 1990, p. BIO; January 30, 1995, pp. In 2001, George W. Bush selected Parsons to co-chair a commission on Social Security. As a result of the savings and loan crisis of the mid-1980s, the Dime had lost some $92.3 million; it was also under scrutiny from federal regulators. "That's what makes you different from your competition," he maintains. As one AOL shareholder told Business Week, "Dick is the right guy to be running the company right now." True, Parsons had proven to be flexible enough to succeed in the banking world, but he had absolutely no background in media and entertainment. Parsons had no clear idea what direction to take after college, but at the prompting of Laura, he decided to go to law school. He serves on the board of several cultural institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art and Lincoln Center. He also met a young Rudolph W. Giuliani, with whom he supported in his campaign for New York mayor and heading his transitional council. (Photo by Shahar Azran/WireImage) Embed. An article in Business Week Online stated that after accepting the Time Warner presidency, "Parsons gradually made himself indispensable to Time Warner by taking on tough assignments that the increasingly insular Levin could not do himself." After graduation, he attended college at the University of Hawaii, where he excelled both academically and socially; Parsons was a varsity basketball player and the social chairman of his fraternity. Isidore, Chris. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2003. Levin, however, felt that Parsons was the right man for the job, and some business insiders were not that surprised. He quickly became a star in the firm and in just two years was named partner. 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. L. Mpho Mabunda and Shirelle Phelps. Parsons lost no time in putting his years of Washington deal-making into action. 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 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. [CDATA[ "Parsons, Richard Parsons was profiled in Black Enterprise's "Under 30 & Moving Up"' series in 1975. 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. 23 Feb. 2023 . 23 Feb. 2023 . The world's most influential media company, however, was struggling. Nationality: American. newzjunky louise bartholomew nicole edward. Its a venue to which I could see myself returning at some point in time, he told the New York Times in 1994, referring to public service as the highest calling, large and important work.. The Parsons appointment was not without controversy at Time Warner. Eds. Lloyd, Fonda Marie, and Mark Lowery. https://www.encyclopedia.com/general/culture-magazines/parsons-richard, "Parsons, Richard Graduated from Princeton University in 2006 . He graduated high school at the age of 16, then devoted much of his attention to sports as a student at the University of Hawaii. . Again, the business community was rocked by the news. For example, during his Washington years, the social-minded Parsons was chairman of the Wildcat Service Corporation, an organization that provides job training for people who have difficulty finding work because of past criminal records, addictions, or poverty. The merger created the fourth largest thrift institution in the nation and the largest on the East Coast, with assets worth $20 billion. The announcement surprised many media watchers who expected chief operating officer Robert Pittman to take the helm. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 22, 2002, C3. [27][28][29] Being of Liberian ethnicity, Cooper founded the MacDella Cooper Foundation in 2004 to help orphans and abandoned children in Liberia following the Second Liberian Civil War. He graduated high school at the age of 16, then devoted much of his attention to sports as a student at the University of Hawaii. Parsons' grandfather, Judd, was a groundskeeper on Pocantico, part of the Rockefeller estate, long before Parsons became a protg of Nelson Rockefeller. Whether I was an African-American, an Arab-American, a Jewish-American, or some other American, there are a lot of people who I cannot let down, so you have to live your life a certain way to be a role model to the people who are important to you.. In 2001, United States President George W. Bush selected Parsons to co-chair a commission on Social Security. 1946 Parsons met Laura, a. Since the first marketing of Laura Bush, Dr. Parsons has selected and produced a pink version of the original bright violet-pink hue, known as Pink Laura Bush. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Former First Lady Laura Bush told TV host Kelly Clarkson that she was "very surprised" to find out her husband, former President George W. Bush, was taking up painting as his . Bl, B3. 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. The biggest boost came from the film division, which had experienced an enormous success because of the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings series. 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