Jerome Chazen, a co-founder of Liz Claiborne Inc. who served as the chairman and chief executive for the fashion company, passed away on Sunday at his Nyack home at the age of 94.
Born in New York City in March 1927, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin”“Madison and an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1950. He worked as an analyst on Wall Street before switching his career focus to retailing, including 11 years at Winkelman”™s before teaming with Liz Claiborne, her husband Art Ortenberg and Leonard Boxer on the 1976 launch of Liz Claiborne Inc.
Chazen was named chairman of the company and served as CEO after Claiborne”™s 1989 retirement. In 1996, he became chairman emeritus when Paul Charron succeeded him as the company”™s leader.
Chazen wrote his autobiography “My Life at Liz Claiborne” in 2012. He was also an active philanthropist, most notably in 1991 when the provided $10 million to launch The Chazen Institute of International Business at Columbia Business School. The Chazen Museum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is named in his honor.
Photo: Jerome Chazen and his wife Simona, photographed by Jeff Miller. Photograph courtesy of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
