George Friedman

1935 - 2012
FRIEDMAN - George, 77, died suddenly on October 7th, 2012 of a heart attack at his home in Sagaponack, NY. He leaves his wife, Pam Bernstein Friedman, his son, Eric Friedman, and his stepsons, Josh and Andy Bernstein.

George grew up in Brooklyn, NY, graduating from Brooklyn Technical high school and then Brooklyn College in 1956. After serving in the U.S. Army, he spent 12 years in the advertising business at Doyle, Dane & Bernbach; Foote, Cone & Belding; and Young & Rubicam.

In 1968, he joined the Estee Lauder Companies, eventually becoming Group President for Aramis and Clinique. In 1976, George left to start Warner Cosmetics, a joint venture with Warner Communications and Ralph Lauren. There, he launched a number of successful brands, including Polo, Lauren, Vanderbilt, and Paloma.

In 1984, George sold Warner Cosmetics to a division of L'Oreal and became Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Brooklyn College, teaching for two years.

In 1988, he became Chairman and CEO of Gryphon Development, LP, a joint venture with The Limited, to create fragrances and toiletries for Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria's Secret, and Bath & Body Works.

In 1992, George sold his stake in Gryphon and returned to teaching, becoming visiting lecturer at the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. He also became Chairman of the I Have a Dream Foundation, sponsoring a class in the program that enabled inner city children to attend college.

George had a lifelong passion for public education. He was a founding member of the Board of New Visions for Public Schools. He was formerly a Trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the New York Public Library. He was also a proud longtime Board member of the Brooklyn College Foundation, the United Way of New York City, Phoenix House Foundation, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Most recently, George was a strategic marketing and branding consultant to Kroll Bond Rating Agency, K2 Intelligence, Verdura, and Siegelvision, the successor to Siegel + Gale.

He loved tennis, spin class, food, travel, and most of all, his family. Services will be held on Wednesday, October 10th, at 9:15am at Park Avenue Synagogue on 87th Street and Madison. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to New Visions for Public Schools, Park Ave. Synagogue, or John Jay College of Criminal Justice.