James R. Houghton
James Richardson Houghton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date |
| Died | December 20, 2022 (aged 86) |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Known for | Chairman of Corning Incorporated |
James Richardson Houghton (April 6, 1936 – December 20, 2022) served as the chairman of the board for Corning Incorporated.
Early life
Born in 1936, Houghton was the third son of Amory Houghton, who previously held the position of U.S. Ambassador to France, and Laura DeKay Richardson. His elder sibling, Amo Houghton, represented New York as a U.S. Representative.
He obtained both a Bachelor of Arts degree and an MBA from Harvard University (A.B., 1958; MBA, 1962).
Career
Between 1959 and 1961, Houghton was employed at Goldman Sachs in New York before commencing his tenure at Corning in 1962. Corning, established in 1851 by his great-great-grandfather Amory Houghton, flourished under his guidance through numerous executive positions. After serving twelve years as vice chairman, he assumed the roles of chairman and CEO in 1983. He retired in 1996 but continued as chairman emeritus until 2001 and then as non-executive chairman until 2002. In 2002, he returned to the chairman and CEO roles before passing CEO responsibilities to Wendell P. Weeks in 2005 and relinquishing the chairman position in 2007.
Additionally, he was a senior fellow at Harvard College and part of the Harvard Corporation.
Corporate board service
Houghton held board memberships at multiple corporations such as Corning Incorporated, ExxonMobil Corporation, and MetLife, Inc., along with involvement in cultural organizations including the Corning Museum of Glass, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Harvard Corporation.
Personal life
On June 30, 1962, Houghton wed May Tuckerman Kinnicutt in Cambridge, Massachusetts. May, an alumna of St. Timothy's School and Radcliffe College, was related to decorator Sister Parish and descended from Chief Justice John Jay and John Jacob Astor. The couple had two children:
- James DeKay Houghton (born circa 1963), a financial manager who married Constance Bradstreet Coburn in 1994.
- Nina Bayard Houghton (born circa 1966), who married Kent George Jr. in 1996.
Under the pen name Maisie Houghton, May authored the novel Pitch Uncertain: A Mid-Century Middle Daughter Finds Her Voice, published in 2011.
James R. Houghton died on December 20, 2022.
See also
External links
- Oral history interview with James Richardson Houghton, April 19, 1994 from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives.