1963

Tom Holzel, our erstwhile mountain climber, is due back this month from his monumental climb of Mount Everest to solve the mystery of whether two lost British climbers, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, were the first to scale the highest point on earth almost three decades before Sir Edmund Hillary's famed ascent, according to Jay Finegan in an article in Inc. magazine. Tom planned to trace Mallory's 1924 route all of the way, writes Finegan, using space-age gear such as an oxygen system that will keep the climbers at the equivalent of sea level. Tom theorized that Irvine turned back while Mallory, who was stronger, climbed on. Tom thinks that Mallory may have reached the top before he died and hopes to find and develop Mallory's film "at altitude." The Holzel expedition was also described in the New York Times Magazine.

We might have a Nobel candidate in Barry Sharpless, the first recipient of the Dr. Paul Janssen Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis in Namur, Belgium. Prince Albert himself presented the citation from a jury headed by Nobelist Prof. Dir D.H.R. Barton who cited Barry for "his fundamental contribution to the development of new homogenous catalysts for the oxidation of organic compounds, and especially for the discovery and the development of the asymmetric expoxidation reaction." Barry's discovery has made it possible to produce a large class of drugs more effectively as well as to create new ones. Dr. Janssen is president of Janssen Pharmaceutica, Belgium's largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals. In addition to the citation, the prize consists of a medal and $6500.

Steve Frank is the new vice president and controller of GTE, Stamford, Conn., and is responsible for the company's internal, and external financial reporting, consolidation and financial analysis of budgets and strategic plans, and accounting policies and practices worldwide. He joined GTE in 1984 as vice president and treasurer after a long career in finance, marketing, and sales at U.S. Steel.

Randall Babcock, associate professor of geology at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., won the 198586 Excellence in Teaching Award which includes $1000 and a certificate. A 1967 Ph.D. graduate of the University of Washington, Randall joined the faculty of Western Washington University, the same year.

Larry Swift has been made a partner in the Boston office of Peat Marwick, the international accounting and consulting firm. He specializes in executive compensation, incentive compensation, performance appraisal, salary administration, and organization studies. Larry coauthored Peat Marwick's New England compensation surveys in the high tech, insurance, and banking industries. Prior to joining Peat Marwick in 1981, Larry earned an M.B.A. from Northeastern University and worked for John Hancock, Commercial Union, and Coles Associates.

Gary Lange, was named an executive vice president and a director of the Puget Sound Bancorp, Tacoma, Wash., as a result of the bank holding company's acquisition of Savings Bank of Puget Sound, of which Gary is the president, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Also according to the venerable Journal,John Steffens, chief executive of Consumer Markets, Merrill Lynch & Company, says the nation's largest brokerage firm is "now in a position to gain significant leverage from our distribution system." John was commenting on Merrill's thrust toward diversification as it faces competition from the other giants of Wall Street.

Ernie Torres has become a partner in the Providence, R.I., law firm of Tillinghast, Collins and Graham and will specialize in civil litigation, administrative law, and business law. He has been assistant vice president of staff counsel operations at Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance Company in Hartford and associate justice of the Superior Court of Rhode Island.

The last issue of this magazine carried the obituary article on Jacques Shure by his friend and business partner HankJenckes. Because of space limitations we could not at that time carry the following eulogy by Hank:

"Each person Jacques touched will remember him in his own way. For me, more than his brilliance, honesty, and creativity in business; more than his fierce love and loyalty to friends and family; more than his generosity of time and tangibles to those in need, the side of Jacques that will remain with me always is his ever-present humor. In the darkest hour, with a glint in his eye, he could find the words to start me rocking with laughter, and suddenly things weren't so bad, after all. Jacques is fixed in my mind as Fred Flintstone or Colonel Sanders at his annual Halloween party. He is the sly hand that helpfully places talcum powder golfball on the tee of a too serious golfing friend; and he is the picture of innocence when a plastic bug is found in the salad of a formal, friendly dinner party. That's how I remember Jacques. With tears in my heart, I remember the laughter."

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