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Celebrating the leadership, vision, tenacity, and love of community shared by the recipients of the Great Living Cincinnatian Award, presented annually by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber since 1967.
Among the dozens of framed family photos in Bill Friedlander’s office at Bartlett & Co. was a gift from a colleague that bears a telling message: A box of Wheaties sporting Friedlander’s likeness.
In 41 years at the largest, locally-based money management firm, Friedlander, Bartlett & Co.’s chairman, earned the respect of the business community, as well as the unofficial mantle “Broker of Champions”.
William Friedlander was born in Cincinnati in 1932. He attended Walnut Hills High School, and graduated from Amherst College in 1954. He served two years in the US Army, and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.
Friedlander married his high school sweetheart, Susan in 1955, and settled in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming.
Bill joined the Cincinnati investment firm, Bartlett & Company in 1957, and became managing partner in 1967. He stepped down as CEO in 1989, and continued to serve as chairman until 2007, when he became chairman emeritus. He remained on the firm’s strategic allocation committee until his death.
While he headed Bartlett & Co. for years, Friedlander, is equally recognized for investing in the community. He served on the boards of Jewish Hospital and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, where assets grew from $40 million to $140 million during his term.
“The Foundation is such an important part of the city – it was very satisfying to see it grow,” he said. “We were able to help a lot more organizations.”
The arts were a lifelong passion for Friedlander. He and his wife co-chaired the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Second Century Fund campaign from 1995-97, raising $37 million, believed to be the largest amount ever raised for an arts organization in Greater Cincinnati.
William Friedlander died September 10, 2014 at his home in Cincinnati. He was 81.
Recipients are selected from candidates by the Cincinnati Chamber’s senior council based on the following criteria: – Community service – Business and civic attainment on a local, state and national or international level – Leadership – Awareness of the needs of others – Distinctive accomplishments that have brought favorable attention to their community, institution or organization
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s mission is to grow the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the Cincinnati region. The Chamber team is working on behalf of member businesses to ignite business resiliency and inclusive growth, to invest in the people who call this region home, to lead regional connectivity through collaboration, and to champion the region’s unique advantages.
Discover all a Cincinnati Chamber membership offers you, your business, and your team.