Geneen, Harold Sydney (1910–1997)

English-born US communications executive. As a Raytheon executive (1956–59) he developed the management structure that made him famous, a structure which featured semiautonomous divisions subject to strong central fiscal controls and strict accountability. As CEO (1959) and president (1959–72) of International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), he introduced the same accounting structure, also presiding over ITT's transformation into one of the largest conglomerates in the world, involving the company in over 350 mergers and acquisitions in 60 countries.

Geneen was born in Bournemouth, England, but emigrated to the USA with his parents in infancy. A New York University graduate in accounting, he worked from 1934 to 1956 for various accounting and manufacturing companies. His major acquisition as ITT president, Hartford Fire Insurance Co. (1970), prompted a Justice Department antitrust suit. Under his stewardship ITT was also investigated for tax fraud and securities manipulation, and he personally was linked with the CIA's interference in the re-election of Chilean president Salvador Allende.