![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(October 2011) |
William G. McGowan | |
---|---|
![]() McGowan in 1989 | |
Born | December 10, 1927 |
Died | June 8, 1992 |
Occupation | Businessman |
Known for | Founder and leader of MCI Communications |
William G. McGowan (December 10, 1927 – June 8, 1992) was an American entrepreneur, and founder and chairman of MCI Communications. He played an important role in the breakup of AT&T while growing MCI into a US$9.5 billion in revenue entity that controlled 16% of the American domestic and international long distance market.
McGowan was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, the third of five children. Bill was active in Ashley Boy Scouts and his troop which included his friends, Tim Klinges, Manus Cooney, Dave Cooney and George Frees, was one of the first group of Boy Scouts to go to Camp St. Andrew before it opened publicly in Tunkhannock, PA. [1] Bill's brother, Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan eventually ran Camp St. Andrew. [2] After graduating from Hanover High School Bill joined the US Army and served as a medic for two and a half years. After an honorable discharge from the military he attended King's College, Pennsylvania and received a degree in business and chemical engineering. He then attended Harvard Business School, graduating in 1954. After graduation from Harvard, McGowan began operating a consulting firm that specialized in rescuing troubled companies in the garment district of New York City. After a year of operation, his consulting agency branched out into venture capital. In the role of venture capitalist, McGowan dealt with firms developing ultrasonic cleaning technology and electro-mechanical devices.
In 1968, McGowan was contacted by MCI due to his expertise in raising venture capital. Based on this contact, he made a US$50,000 investment in the fledgling business and was made chairman of Microwave Communications of America, a predecessor to MCI Communications. In his role as chairman, McGowan raised capital for the growing company and set up fifteen of the seventeen regional carriers that would form the basis of MCI's initial communications network. In 1971, he executed a reorganization of Microwave Communications of America and its seventeen subsidiaries to form MCI Communications. [3]
In his role at MCI, McGowan established a reputation as a hard worker by routinely working fifteen-hour days. He was also a three-pack-a-day smoker and drank over twenty cups of coffee each day until his first heart attack. As leader of MCI, he labored for several years to gain the financing and regulator approvals required to begin full operations. Following the filing of MCI's 1974 lawsuit against AT&T, McGowan began cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice which eventually led to a 1982 agreement leading to the divestiture of AT&T and the opening of the long distance telephone market within the United States. [4]
McGowan married Sue Ling Gin, a Chicago entrepreneur, in a private ceremony in Virginia Beach on July 5, 1984. They decided to keep their marriage secret for a year as Sue Ling wanted credit for success in her own right and not as the wife of McGowan. [5] On April 25, 1987, McGowan underwent a heart transplant at UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [6]
On December 21, 1986, McGowan experienced a heart attack. His medical problems resulted in his receiving a heart transplant on April 25, 1987. [5] McGowan returned to his duties as MCI chairman after a six-month recovery, where he remained until his death on June 8, 1992, from another heart attack. [3]
McGowan's philanthropy continues on in many forms. He established what is now the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center due to his heart condition. Just before his death, he also established the William G. McGowan School of Business at King's College. Shortly after his death, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund was founded in his name. DePaul University in Chicago has two science and research buildings named for the McGowan family including McGowan and his late brother, a Catholic priest. His charitable fund provides tuition assistance and financial aid grants for selected students. The Rochester Institute of Technology created the Center for Telecommunications and the McGowan Student Commons located in the new College Applied Science and Technology building. The National Archives in Washington, D.C., established the William G. McGowan theater in his honor. [7]
McGowan received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1982 [8] and was the Host of the 1986 Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C. [9]
McGowan was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1992.
McGowan has a fellowship foundation for second year MBA students. The foundation will pay for the second year tuition at a top business school. [10]
In 1992, William McGowan was honored with an Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to innovation throughout his career.
In 2002, McGowan was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame for his dedication to the cellular industry. [11]
MCI Communications Corporation was a telecommunications company headquartered in Washington, D.C. that was at one point the second-largest long-distance provider in the United States.
Craig McCaw is an American businessman and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.
King's College is a private Catholic university in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and located within the Diocese of Scranton.
Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman is a Canadian-American billionaire media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor. He is the co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the US. Zuckerman is also the owner and publisher of U.S. News & World Report, where he serves as editor-in-chief. He formerly owned the New York Daily News,The Atlantic, and Fast Company. As of August 2024, his net worth is estimated at US$2.6 billion.
Billy Joe"Red"McCombs was an American businessman. He was the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a past chairman of Constellis Group, a onetime owner of the San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio Force, Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
Lester Lowry Mays was an American businessman. He was the founder and chairman of Clear Channel Communications.
Peter George Peterson was an American investment banker who served as United States Secretary of Commerce from February 29, 1972, to February 1, 1973, under the Richard Nixon administration. Peterson was also chairman and CEO of Bell & Howell from 1963 to 1971. From 1973 to 1984, he was chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers. In 1985, he co-founded the private equity firm The Blackstone Group, and served as chairman. In the same year, Peterson became chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, a position he held until his retirement in 2007, after which he was named chairman emeritus. In 2008, Peterson was ranked 149th on the "Forbes 400 Richest Americans" with a net worth of $2.8 billion. He was also known as founder and principal funder of The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting fiscal austerity.
John Jakob Raskob, KCSG was a financial executive and businessman for DuPont and General Motors, and the builder of the Empire State Building. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1928 to 1932 and a key supporter of Alfred E. Smith's candidacy for President of the United States.
Clear Communications Ltd was a telecommunications company based in New Zealand. Until merging into Telstra's operations in 2001, it was the biggest rival to Telecom New Zealand.
Andrew Lindsay Lewis Jr., generally known as Drew Lewis, was an American businessman and politician from the state of Pennsylvania. He was United States Secretary of Transportation in the first portion of the administration of U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan, and is best known for presiding over the firing of the striking U.S. air traffic controllers in 1981.
John William Rollins was an American businessman and politician from Greenville, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party and served as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware. He founded or acquired nine companies, mostly in the automotive and communication sectors, all traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
John Samuel Hendricks is an American businessman and the founder and former chairman of Discovery, Inc., a broadcasting and film production company which owned the Discovery Channel, TLC, and Animal Planet networks, among other ventures. On March 20, 2014, after 32 years at the helm, he made public his intention to retire as chairman of Discovery Communications after the annual shareholders' meeting of May 16, 2014. He moved on to found CuriosityStream, an ad-free, on-demand streaming service.
Ally & Gargano was an American advertising agency, which Advertising Age named Agency of the Year in 1982. It was the first advertising agency to initiate comparative advertising Among a long list of advertising success, Federal Express, who began working with the agency in 1973, is their most significant success. Founder and CEO Fred Smith of FedEx, has publicly stated, "Had it not been for Ally & Gargano, Federal Express would probably not exist today."
John D. "Jack" Goeken was a prolific telecommunications entrepreneur born in Joliet, Illinois. He was the original founder of Microwave Communications Inc., better known as MCI Inc.
Frank Kyle Spain was an American inventor and television engineer. He is best known for founding and building WTVA, an NBC affiliate in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Robert Warren Pittman is an American businessman. Pittman was the CEO of MTV Networks and the cofounder and programmer who led the team that created MTV, and is the cofounder of iHeartMedia and Casa Dragones Tequila. Pittman joined iHeartMedia's predecessor company Clear Channel in November 2010 as an investor and the company's Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms, was named CEO in 2011 and chairman in 2013. Pittman led Clear Channel's transformation into iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014 to reflect its new multiplatform business and expanded mission. Pittman has also been the former chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Outdoor, CEO of AOL Networks, Six Flags Theme Parks, Quantum Media, Century 21 Real Estate and Time Warner Enterprises, and COO of America Online, Inc. and AOL Time Warner.
MCI Mail was one of the first commercial email services in the United States and one of the largest telecommunication services in the world. Operated by MCI Communications Corp. from 1983 to 2003, MCI Mail offered its customers a low cost and effective solution for sending and receiving electronic mail.
Stephen Todd Walker is an American finance expert and author. He has an extensive background in alternative investments. He has written two books on the subject, Wave Theory For Alternative Investments: Riding The Wave with Hedge Funds, Commodities, and Venture Capital by McGraw-Hill in December 2010 and Understanding Alternative Investments: Creating Diversified Portfolios that Ride the Wave of Investment Success by Palgrave MacMillan in July 2014. Presently, he is a senior vice president at Royal Bank of Canada.
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine is a medical research institute which is a partnership between the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is directed by Professor Chandan K Sen.
{{cite web}}
: |first=
has generic name (help)