George Gordon Strong, Jr. – 50th Reunion Essay

George Gordon Strong, Jr.

5455 Castle Knoll Road

La Canada, CA 91011-1319

gstrong@cornerstone.com

213-308-2010

Spouse(s): Annsley Strong (1974–43 years)

Child(ren): Geordy (1977), Courtney (1979), Meredith (1981), Alexis (1982)

Grandchild(ren): Noah (2006), Addison (2008), Mackenzie (2010), Jamen (2012), Charlotte (2011), Madeleine (2013), Emma (2017), Grayson (2013), Logan (2016)

Education: Andover ’65, Yale ’69, Harvard Bus School ’71, USD Law School ’74

Career: Startups 1974–1977, 1982–1987 (CFO/EVP); Price Waterhouse 1977–1982 (Sr. Manager), 1987–2002 (Managing Partner/Board member); Cornerstone Research (2002–present) Managing Director/General Counsel.

College: Calhoun (Hopper)

After Yale (and business and law school) I finally went to work and pursued two primary tracks of endeavor with radically different results: 1) startups and 2) consulting. I started out eschewing the staid corporate route and let my entrepreneurial juices flow. I invested my talents in 3 startups as a CFO, COO, EVP, etc. Two were in software and the third company sold artificial tooth roots made of vitreous carbon. All failed. So post failures and finding myself at 40 with a wife (Annsley) and 4 kids without health insurance (which Annsley thought was a BIG problem) I capitulated to “the man” and rejoined (had a prior stint) Price Waterhouse as a consulting partner, working mostly as an expert witness in the litigation consulting unit. After a fulfilling PW career involving firm governance (US and Global Boards) and management (Western US consulting) as well as client service, I retired the first time at 55 and continued consulting with a boutique litigation firm, Cornerstone Research, where I am about to retire the second time at 71.

After Annsley got her coveted health insurance, my family life has been terrific, thanks largely to her, my life partner and best friend for 43 years of marriage (plus 8 years of trial period she likes to count.) We have been fortunate and blessed to enjoy a rich and full extended family life with 4 kids and 9 grandchildren.

As requested, I have pondered the contributions of my 4-year Yale experience to a life I consider reasonably “well lived.” Although enjoyable, fun and intellectually stimulating, I don’t regard my Yale experience as transformative of my life as many others describe their experience. Part of the reason may be my single greatest regret about my Yale experience: the students and faculty members of the Yale community I did NOT meet.

Part of the reason may also be the rich portfolio of academic experiences I like many others enjoyed beyond Yale, like boarding school (Andover), business school (HBS) and law school (USD) which provided me entirely new cohorts of people with whom to interact and often more structural exposure to a broader cross section of the people there. Moreover, in the 4th quarter of life, the contributions of a lifetime of work, family and social experiences compete vigorously for “top of mind” when considering contributions to and impacts upon one’s life. At least for me, the 4 years at Yale have softly faded into the background of my recollections of my life experiences including assessing contributions.

My conclusions about the contributions of various schools, including Yale, focus not surprisingly on the people I met there who had an impact on my life as friends, mentors (especially mentors), colleagues, etc. Compared to a lifetime of other sources of people I’ve met, my Yale experience produces now relatively few memories of incremental people whom I can remember impacting my life. Recognizing that gives birth to my single greatest regret about my four years there, that I didn’t meet more people in the rich talent pool that was the Yale community, similar to the regret about the courses I did not take.

See you all at the 50th.