Helene Fortunoff
American businesswoman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helene Fortunoff (March 2, 1933 – November 8, 2021) was an American businessperson who headed Fortunoff.[1][2]
Life and career
Summarize
Perspective
Helene Fortunoff was born as Helene Finke in Paterson, New Jersey on March 2, 1933, to Tillie Finke, a homemaker, and, Samuel Finke, who worked in the HVAC wholesale industry.[3][4] She was of Jewish ancestry and grew up in nearby Fair Lawn.[5] At the age of 13, she began doing after-school jobs for his father.[3] She graduated from Fair Lawn High School.[6]
Fortunoff started out at Syracuse University, but after two years she switched to NYU's School of Commerce (which has been renamed as New York University Stern School of Business).[3] In 1953, she earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with highest honors.[3]
In 1953, Fortunoff began her career by joining the family retail operation, Fortunoff, run by her husband, Alan Fortunoff's family in Brooklyn.[3] Four years later, in 1957, she recommended expanding the company into the jewelry industry and led the charge.[3] Under her leadership, Fortunoff became one of the largest retailer in the state.[3][7]
In 2000, Fortunoff became the president of Fortunoff Fine Jewelry & Silverware after the death of her husband.[3]
She retired in 2005, after the Fortunoff family had sold off most of the company to outside investors.[3]
Awards
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.