Cyrus F. Freidheim, Jr. (MSIA 1963)

Cyrus Freidheim had a long and illustrious career that he describes as “three careers,” including management consultant, CEO, and board member. Upon retiring from Booz Allen Hamilton as vice chairman in 2002, he’d assisted nearly 100 CEOs in 20 countries.

Specializing in strategy and restructuring of global corporations, he’d been instrumental in Chrysler’s successful government-backed resurrection. Freidheim went on to become CEO of Chiquita Brands and then the Chicago Sun-Times, all the while serving on numerous boards. Ultimately, he served on more than 20 non-profit boards (five as chairman), 15 corporate boards, and authored three books.

Freidheim recently reflected, “I think I’m on my fourth career, ‘Overtime,’ as an author." He is working on his first novel, 'Star of Africa: from Dictatorship to Democracy.'

A Chicago native, Freidheim attended Notre Dame for his undergraduate chemical engineering degree before serving four years in the U.S. Navy. A serendipitous round of golf during his Navy years pointed him toward the Tepper School of Business.

As they played, Robert Trueblood, a senior partner at Touche Ross and visiting Tepper School professor, described the school’s cutting-edge research and focus on the future of business with computers, information technology, and analytics.

Freidheim turned down Harvard and earned his graduate degree from the Tepper School.

Following graduation, Freidheim spent three years with Ford as a financial analyst before joining Booz Allen Hamilton in 1966.