Peter Georgescu

Peter Georgescu is chairman emeritus of Young & Rubicam Inc., and previously served as the company’s CEO from 1994 until 2000. He was the first chairman of Young & Rubicam born outside of the United States. His career spanned some 40 years including top management experience both in the United States and around the world. He was instrumental in developing and fostering the integrated communications strategy that shaped the course of Young & Rubicam’s progress and became the standard for industry thinking. After retiring, Peter served on the boards of seven public companies including Levi Strauss, International Flavors & Fragrances, and others.   

Peter’s belief in the power of education has fueled his involvement with organizations such as A Better Chance; Polytechnic University; and The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, where he has served as a member of the boards of directors.  Additionally, Peter continues to serve as vice chair emeritus of New York Presbyterian Hospital.  

For the past half dozen years, Peter has worked on the issue of inequality in America. His latest book, Capitalists Arise! is a battle cry for business’ imperative need to change. Currently he is working to install stakeholder capitalism as America’s business governance. In this work, Peter serves as a director of JUST Capital.  

Peter holds honorary doctorates from the University of Alabama and Cornell College; he is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Peter immigrated to the United States from Romania in 1954, at age 15 where he had been held as a political hostage in hard labor.  He received his bachelor’s with cum laude honors from Princeton University and an MBA from the Stanford Business School.