Editor's Note
Dear Friends,
After the April plane crash in Croatia that killed Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and members of a U.S. trade delegation to the region, we learned that two Business School alumni were among the 35 victims. One was Lee Jackson, MBA '83, a successful banker and government leader who was a rising star in Democratic politics. The other was a member of the SEP Class of 1981, Leonard Pieroni.
Jackson and Pieroni were offering their skills to help rebuild the war-torn Balkans. Jackson was accompanying the trade mission in his role as executive director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, an institution focused on rebuilding Eastern and Central Europe. Pieroni was the chairman of Parsons Corp. of Pasadena, Calif., a major international engineering and construction company.
Jackson had a successful career as an investment banker before being tapped by Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in 1988 to be that city's treasurer. He was picked by the Clinton Administration in 1993 to head the London-based European Bank. Jackson was active in the Business School's Public Management Program, returning regularly to speak to classes and taking part in MBA admissions activities.
Jim Thompson, director of the PMP, recalled that Jackson "had a great track record of public service and a dazzlingly bright future ahead of him. It is a great loss to the world that he will not be able to fulfill that promise."
Classmates have established the Lee Jackson Fellowship at the GSB for students who have demonstrated a special interest in public service. Jackson is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Luther Jackson Jr. of Hartsdale, N.Y., and a brother, Luther Jackson III.
Pieroni helped Brown organize the mission to Bosnia and
Croatia, where he hoped his firm would rebuild bridges destroyed in the war. Since joining Parsons in 1972, he had risen through the ranks, helping the firm build major transportation facilities, oil and gas production sites, and factories in North America and Asia.
Pieroni was a member of the board of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and of the executive board of the San Gabriel Valley (Calif.) Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, of La Canada, Calif., and two children, Len and Vicki.
We all share a sense of loss from the deaths of these two valued members of the GSB community. Their classmates and friends also share an appreciation for their accomplishments and for the contributions they made, both as business leaders and as human beings.
Sincerely,
Cathy Castillo, Editor
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