Henry Hillman
Henry Lea Hillman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 14, 2017 (aged 98) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, community leader, philanthropist |
| Known for | Chairman of The Hillman Company; leader of Hillman Family Foundations |
Henry Lea Hillman (December 25, 1918 – April 14, 2017) was a prominent American billionaire entrepreneur, investor, community leader, and philanthropist. He served as chairman of The Hillman Company, a family-owned investment and management firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition, he led the board of trustees for the Hillman Family Foundations, overseeing 18 distinct foundations bearing the family name.
Early life
Hillman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the fifth offspring of John Hartwell Hillman Jr. and Juliet Cummins Hillman. His father transformed a modest iron brokerage into a broad industrial conglomerate with diversified interests including coal mining, steel manufacturing, utilities, energy production, transportation, real estate ventures, and banking.
He pursued his education at Shady Side Academy, followed by the Taft School, and ultimately graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. degree in geology in 1941. Prior to America’s entry into World War II, Hillman enlisted in the Navy, serving as an aide to Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs and later as a Naval aviator holding the rank of lieutenant until 1945.
Business career
In January 1946, Hillman began working at Pittsburgh Coke & Chemical, a producer of coke, pig iron, and coal-based products such as activated carbon. The majority ownership rested with J. H. Hillman & Sons (which later became The Hillman Company). As vice president and director, Henry expanded the firm's chemical and plasticizer divisions before ascending to president in 1955.
As a director of Colonial Trust Company, he played a key role in merging smaller banks into Pittsburgh National Bank (now part of PNC Financial Services), maintaining board membership until 1988.
Following his father’s passing in 1959, Hillman assumed control over the family’s assets and substantially grew their scope. Anticipating the rise of private equity investing, he divested many industrial and chemical operations, privatized Pittsburgh Coke, and shifted The Hillman Company toward a diversified investment enterprise. From the 1960s through the 1990s, the firm acquired and divested numerous businesses including Marion Power Shovel, Copeland Refrigeration, American Flyers Airline, Continental Trailways, Global Marine Systems, Joseph Magnin Co., Shakespeare Company, Read-Rite Corporation, Texstar Corporation, Perrigo, and Exide.
In 1972, Hillman was among the founding limited partners of Kleiner Perkins’ inaugural venture capital fund. Through this partnership alongside other funds and direct investments, he supported emerging technology companies such as Genentech, Tandem Computers, and Hybritech. By the early 1980s, The Hillman Company had become the largest single venture capital investor in the United States.
Beginning in 1976, Hillman also acted as an early limited partner in Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), participating in leveraged buyouts involving American Forest Products, L. B. Foster Company, Fred Meyer, Beatrice Companies (Beatrice Foods), Duracell, and RJR Nabisco. Forbes recognized The Hillman Company as one of America’s largest yet discreet commercial real estate developers with holdings extending from California to Florida. The company further invested in energy exploration projects including coal-bed methane development.
Throughout his professional life, Hillman held board positions at numerous major corporations such as Chemical Bank & Trust Co. (now JPMorgan Chase), Copeland Corporation (chairman from 1970 to 1986), Cummins Engine Company, Edgewater Steel, General Electric, Global Marine Systems, Marion Power Shovel Company, Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company, Merck & Co., National Steel Corporation, Nichols-Homeshield Inc., Shakespeare Company, Texas Gas Transmission (chairman between 1959 and 1975), and Wilson Marine Transit. He retired from active management duties at The Hillman Company in 2004 but continued serving as chairman with ongoing governance responsibilities.
Hillman's achievements earned him induction into the Private Equity Hall of Fame along with accolades such as Industrialist of the Year (1968) awarded by the Western Pennsylvania National Society of Industrial Realtors and Business Leader of the Year (1989) from the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce.
Philanthropy
Since the late 1940s, during Pittsburgh's initial "renaissance," Hillman played a prominent role in the city's civic leadership. He held positions as director or trustee across a wide range of organizations, such as ACTION Housing, Inc.; the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission; Carnegie Institute; Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh; Maurice Falk Medical Fund; Penn's Southwest Association; Pittsburgh Regional Planning Association; Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania; University of Pittsburgh; and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Between 1967 and 1970, he served as president of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and subsequently as chair from 1970 until 1973.
As the leader of the Hillman Family Foundations, Hillman directed philanthropic initiatives aimed at strengthening Pittsburgh’s competitive standing. Notable donations include the establishment of the Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh, Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems within the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the Henry L. Hillman Professorship in Molecular Biology at Princeton University. He also supported the Henry L. Hillman Fund for art acquisitions at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Elsie Hillman Chair in Women and Politics at Chatham University, and the Elsie Hilliard Hillman Chair of Women's Health Research at Magee-Womens Research Institute. Further contributions encompassed the Hillman Cancer Center and Hillman Fellows Program for Innovative Cancer Research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, along with the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children's Hospital. Additionally, he backed evaluation efforts by the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute to equip Western Pennsylvania students for careers in manufacturing and financed the Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University.
Starting in 2012, Hillman significantly increased yearly funding through the Henry L. Hillman Foundation to bolster community-driven innovation initiatives throughout Pittsburgh’s nonprofit landscape.
Both Hillman and Elsie H. Hillman were recognized with numerous awards, including gold medals from The Pennsylvania Society and the American Institute of Architects (Pittsburgh chapter), as well as receiving the Tree of Life Award from the National Jewish Fund and the Sheepskin Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities.
Personal life
Hillman wedded Elsie Hilliard (1925–2015) in Pittsburgh on May 12, 1945. Together, they had four children: Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds, Audrey Hillman Fisher, Henry L. Hillman Jr., and William Talbott Hillman. He passed away on April 14, 2017, at age 98.
External links
- Henry L. Hillman Foundation
- Hillman Family Foundations
- Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
- Elsie Hillman Chair in Women & Politics at Chatham University
- Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh