peter & Barbara georgescu

leader & activist 

New York City, New York | PathNorth member since 2014

Peter Georgescu is chairman emeritus of Young & Rubicam Inc., and previously served as the company’s CEO from 1994 until 2000. He was the first chairman of Young & Rubicam Inc. born outside of the United States. His career spanned some 40 years including top management experience both in the United States and around the world. He was instrumental in developing and fostering the integrated communications strategy that shaped the course of Young & Rubicam’s progress and became the standard for industry thinking. After retiring from Y&R, Peter served on the boards of 7 public companies including Levis Strauss, International Flavors & Fragrances, and others. 

Most recently, Peter has become chairman of the board of H2C, Inc., It is an energy company providing end-to-end transportation of clean, green hydrogen from renewable production areas to the marketplace.  H2C Company’s mission is to help reduce the devastating impact of climate change on our threatened planet.

Peter’s belief in the power of education has led him to hold board positions at organizations such as: A Better Chance, Polytechnic University, Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, Stanford Business School Board of Advisors and Philips Exeter Academy. Additionally, Peter continues to serve as Vice Chair Emeritus of New York Presbyterian Hospital. 

For the past decade, Peter has worked on the issue of inequality in America.  His latest book, Capitalists, Arise! is a battle cry for business’ imperative need to change.  Currently he is working to install stakeholder capitalism as America’s business governance. In this work, Peter serves as a director of JUST Capital. 

He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Alabama and Cornell College; he is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Peter arrived in the United States from Romania in 1954, at age 15 where he had been held as a political hostage in hard labor.  He was gifted entrance into Exeter Academy having arrived without speaking English, and with a fifth-grade education.  Three years later he entered Princeton University where he received his B.A. with cum laude honors, followed by an MBA from Stanford Business School.

Peter and his wife Barbara split their time between New York, Chautauqua, and Florida. 

Barbara Anne Armstrong Georgescu was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She attended Rutgers Elementary and Preparatory Schools and was graduated from Douglass College/Rutgers University in 1962 where she received a BA in Psychology. Following graduation, Barbara worked as research analyst for Young and Rubicam Inc. where she met her husband, Peter. They were married in 1965. She continued her career as a marketing research analyst at Monroe Mendelsohn Research.

During hte 60's and early 70's, Barbara joined the Board of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), became a community advisory board member of WNET/Channel 13, and a member of the New York Junior League. She was an active member of the Brick Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday school for several years.

In the mid-70's, she moved to Amsterdam with her husband and son for three years. Upon her return to the U.S., she worked at the Wicker Garden, a unique retail format for antique wicker furniture and children's clothing. In 1979, the family moved again - this time to Chicago for four years. There Barbara joined the Chicago Junior League, became a Women's Board member of the Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Upon returning to New York in 1984, Barbara joined the Lincoln Center Theatre Board and worked actively with Tony Randall on his National Theatre Board. She, with her husband, worked closely with A Better Chance (ABC). ABC's mission is to find scholarships for inner city youngsters to attend both private and public high-schools. 93% of their students go on to be graduated from college. From 1984 to 1999, Barbara worked closely with her husband Peter, who at the time was CEO of Young and Rubicam, Inc., developing new business and organizing professional and social events both nationally and internationally. They traveled to over 25 countries during those years, frequently being away from home for over six months of the year.

Barbara was on the Board of Directors and Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Tennis Hal of Fame in Newport. She received the Chairman's Award for outstanding board contributions in 2003. She also served three years on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) following her many years of service on the ITHF Board in Newport, RI.

She has been honored by the Episcopal Charities of New York at St. John the Divine for her outreach work in the city of New York. As well, Barbara received the President's Medal of Honor for her 20 years of service on the John Jay Foundation Board at the City University of New York (CUNY).

Presently, Barbara is on the Advisory Board of the USTA Foundation and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Park on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.

Barbara has fun in her role as a member of the National Board of Review. The oldest film review institution in the U.S. She frequently screens over 100 movies a year.

A Chautauqua summer resident since 1998, Barbara was a Trustee of the Institution from 2005 until 2013. She served on the Program Policy Committee, Asset Policy Commitee, and Executive Committee.

Peter and Barbara split their time between New York City, Chautauqua and North Palm Beach, Florida.