Henry A. Hubschman, who had a distinguished career in law, government and business, died of cancer at the age of 63 in his Greenwich, Connecticut home on February 9, 2011. In the last twenty years of his life, he was a senior lawyer and then senior business executive at GE, beginning his career with the company as General Counsel of its Aircraft Engines division in 1992.
In 1997, he became the President and CEO of GE Capital Aviation Services, the commercial aircraft financing and leasing business of GE (and a unit of GE Capital). He enjoyed remarkable global success, growing the company to a fleet of 1800 aircraft placed with nearly 250 airlines in over 75 countries. Under his leadership, the company's aircraft assets grew from $10 billion to $49 billion , making it the largest aircraft leasing business in the world . It had offices in 25 cities across the globe and offered productivity solutions as well as aircraft finance to the world's airlines.
"Henry has been widely recognized as one of the aviation industry's outstanding leaders, enjoying unqualified respect from his customers and his competitors," said GE CEO Jeffrey I. Immelt. "He was also one of the great GE business leaders of the past 20 years. He was not just liked by everyone inside and outside the company, he was beloved for his straight talk and caring personality."
Prior to GE, he had a notable career in law and government. Graduating summa cum laude from Rutgers in 1969 and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1973 (where he also received a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government), he was law clerk to Judge Frank Murray of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts from 1973-74. He was a nationally recognized litigator in the Washington office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson, where he was an associate at the firm from 1974-77 and 1979-80 and partner from 1980-1992. From 1977-79, he served as Executive Assistant to Patricia Roberts Harris, the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and then served on the board of directors of the Federal National Mortgage Association from 1979-81.
Vernon E. Jordan, Senior Managing Director with Lazard Freres & Co and friend since Mr. Hubschman's government days, said: "I have met no one who had a greater breadth of vision than Henry. His extraordinary effectiveness stemmed not just from being a wonderful person but from his ability to understand the law, policy, business and personal dimensions of all complex problems. He was a dear friend to me----and to so many others."
Mr. Hubschman was born in Newark, New Jersey on August 12, 1947. the son of Morris and Esther (Weissman). He and his wife, the former Joanne L. Goode, were married for 25 years. He is survived by Joanne, his two daughters, Lilly and Josie, his two sons, Ellis and Nathan, as well as by his sister Susan Wainberg and his two nephews Jonathan (wife Sarah) and Zev (wife Cara) Wainberg.
Ralph L. Schlosstein, President and CEO of Evercore Partners and one of Mr. Hubschman's oldest friends, said, "Henry was that truly rare man who combines extraordinary professional achievement, the highest integrity and a deep love of family and friends. He will be deeply missed by all whose lives he touched."
Dan Whitney
GE Capital Aviation Services
[email protected]
203-585-2268
203-300-8707