Mount Kisco, New York. May 2019. Curtis Instruments, Inc. is honored to announce that Henry B. Schacht, currently a special limited partner at the prestigious private equity investing company Warburg Pincus, has been elected to the board of directors of the corporation. Since 1995, Mr. Schacht held high-level management positions at a Warburg Pincus, including as managing director and senior advisor. His distinguished success record includes positions as Chairman and CEO at Lucent Technology and Cummins Engine Company, both major Fortune 500 companies.
Mr. Schacht's extensive corporate leadership experience with international technology companies will be a significant asset to Curtis Instruments, a global electric vehicle technology leader.
He began his business career at the American Brake Shoe Company in 1956. Following service in the U.S. Navy and graduate school, he joined the Irwin Management Company, an investment firm in Columbus, Indiana in 1962. In 1964, Mr. Schacht joined Cummins Engine Company, Inc., in Columbus as vice president -- Finance. He moved up the ranks at Cummins, holding key positions in Cummins International and later domestic operations before he assumed duties as president in 1969, when he was elected to the board of directors. In 1973, he became president and chief executive officer, and four years later became chairman and chief executive officer. He retired from Cummins in 1995, and was named chairman and CEO-designate of Lucent Technologies later that year. Mr. Schacht stepped down as chairman of Lucent Technologies in February 1998 having served as the company's first chairman and CEO from 1995 to 1997, during its launch and first year as an independent company. He also served as a consultant to Lucent from 1998 until 1999. He returned to Lucent in 2000 as chairman and CEO, tasked with revitalizing the company, having most recently served as chairman of the Lucent spinoff, Avaya.
Mr. Schacht received his MBA with Honors from Harvard University University and he holds a Bachelor of Science from Yale University. In addition, he was awarded numerous honorary degrees, including M.S, Ed.D, D. Sc and Humane Letters titles from Harvard, Yale, Dension, DePauw, Penn State, Trinity College and Worchester Poly Technical.
His eminent career includes guiding and contributing his skills as a member of the board for not-for-profit organizations, such as the Resources for the Future and the Health Effects Institute. He served on Paul Newman's Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy. He is an honorary trustee of the Brookings Institution and a trustee emeritus of the Culver Educational Foundation. He is a former member of The Business Council and the Business Roundtable. He was also a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, former chairman of the board of trustees of The Ford Foundation and a former trustee of Yale University and The Rockefeller Foundation. Additionally, he was a Fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society.
He had also served on the board of directors of globally recognized corporations CBS, AT&T, the Johnson & Johnson Corp., the Chase Manhattan Corporation and Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., the New York Times Company, Knoll Inc. and Alcoa Inc.
He and his wife Nancy live in Sleepy Hollow, New York.