Alumni
Newsmaker: G. Chris Andersen '62
Leader
of the year Chris Andersen always an 'Achiever'
By Adrienne
Murrill
Life
came full circle in November for G. Chris Andersen '62
when he was named Junior Achievement of New York's 2007 Business
Leader of the Year.
The
founding partner of G.C. Andersen Partners was introduced
to the worldwide organization that educates young people in
financial literacy and entrepreneurship in high school. Andersen
was then president of a Junior Achievement (JA) company and
continues to carry those experiences with him today.
When
the late Harold Shapiro, then-board member of Junior Achievement
Chicago and a Northwestern University law professor, asked
Andersen to consider involvement in the New York chapter,
Andersen agreed. "After nearly half a century, I got back
in touch with JA and it was astonishing, remembering the fundamental
impact that year in JA had on me when I was a teenager," he
said.
A
board member himself and honoree at last year's NYC gala,
Andersen is co-chair of JANY's endowment campaign. He said
the organization plays an important role in reaching young
people: "It helps them understand how the system works, what
makes America strong and where our entrepreneurial instincts
come from."
Andersen, who was once referred to by The
New York Times as one of the five most creative investment bankers
on Wall Street, said his involvement follows a Mormon philosophy.
"Life is divided into trimesters. One-third is for learning,
one-third is for earning and one-third is for giving back,"
he said. "This is clearly one of the joys of my life, being
able to give back." |
