by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
December 27, 2024
He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their three children, Gregory, Leslie, and Rebecca.
Richard D. Parsons, a pioneering business leader known for his steady hand at the helm of troubled companies such as Time Warner, Citigroup, and CBS, died on Dec. 26 at his Manhattan home. According to The New York Times, he was 76.
The cause was cancer, according to Ronald S. Lauder, an Estée Lauder board member and longtime friend.
Parsons, a jazz enthusiast and philanthropist, rose to prominence as one of corporate America’s few Black leaders during his time, navigating boardrooms often as the sole minority voice. He became synonymous with transforming crises into opportunities, stabilizing struggling corporations, and championing diversity and equity in business.
From orchestrating the recovery of AOL Time Warner after its catastrophic merger to steadying the Los Angeles Clippers during a high-profile racism scandal, Parsons earned a reputation as a trusted troubleshooter for some of the largest American institutions.
A Career in Corporate Rescues
Born on April 4, 1948, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Richard Dean Parsons was the fifth of Lorenzo and Isabelle Parsons’s children. Precocious but restless, he skipped two grades and graduated high school at 16. A whimsical choice led him to the University of Hawaii, where he majored in history and met his future wife, Laura Bush.
Parsons began his career as an aide to Nelson A. Rockefeller and eventually earned a law degree from Albany Law School. His ascent to the business elite started in the 1980s when he salvaged Dime Bancorp during the savings-and-loan crisis.
In the 1990s, he joined Time Warner, becoming its president by 1995 and later CEO of the merged AOL Time Warner, where he navigated the fallout from one of the most disastrous mergers in corporate history. “I want my legacy to be simple: I left the place in good shape and in good hands,” Parsons said in a 2007 interview.
Parsons’s ability to stabilize tumultuous organizations saw him tapped repeatedly for high-stakes leadership roles, including as chairman of Citigroup during the 2007–08 financial crisis and as CBS’s interim board chairman during its leadership dispute with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone.
Championing Diversity and Social Justice
A self-described “Rockefeller Republican,” Parsons passionately advocated for social justice and equity. After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, he co-founded the Equity Alliance to support ventures led by women and people of color.
He also took public stances against restrictive voting laws, signing a letter denouncing a 2021 Georgia law limiting voter access. “It’s not enough to fix what’s broken in boardrooms,” Parsons once said. “We must address the inequalities in society that hold people back.”
Beyond corporate boardrooms, Parsons was a trustee of the Apollo Theater and a wine connoisseur who owned a Tuscan winery.
A Legacy of Leadership
Parsons’s enduring influence reached far beyond the corporations he saved. His charismatic demeanor, sharp intellect, and expansive network positioned him as a go-to adviser for America’s top leaders.
“He was a bridge-builder in every sense of the word,” said Lauder. “Richard could walk into any room, disarm hostility, and find common ground.”
He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their three children, Gregory, Leslie, and Rebecca.
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