Business
Founders and leaders of the companies people worked for and bought from. 96 people are remembered here. Light a candle, read their story, and add a memory of your own.
Peter Zinkann1928 – 2026 · Mechanical engineer and industrialist (Miele)Engineer and co-owner of Miele who built its first fully automatic washing machine.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Pete Marquis† 2026 · BusinessmanPreston contractor who raised more than a million pounds for hospices, schools and the homeless.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Louis Appignani1933 – 2026 · Entrepreneur and philanthropistBarbizon builder and Miami philanthropist for secular humanism.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Bob Buziak† 2026 · Record executiveThe RCA Records president who turned the label around and backed Dirty Dancing.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Kenneth Shuler† 2026 · BarberFounder of the Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology and mentor to generations of beauty professionals.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Evgenia Daskalopoulou† 2026 · ShipownerFounder of Almi Marine, who took her family's spirit of enterprise from the dairy shop to the open sea.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Eva Ngigi-Sarwari1981 – 2026 · Banker and payments executiveKenyan banker and payments leader who led Visa in Kenya and Finserve Africa, and urged women to take risks and lead.
6 candles · 1 tributes
James H. Rosenfield Sr.1929 – 2026 · broadcasting executiveCBS executive who helped steer network television through its peak decades.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Morris Ballen1938 – 2026 · BusinessmanDisc Makers leader who helped indie artists press vinyl, cassettes and CDs.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Josef Buchmann1930 – 2026 · Real estate investor and philanthropistHolocaust survivor who shaped Frankfurt's skyline and endowed TAU's law and music schools.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Victor Eugene Caudle, Jr.1954 – 2026 · Roofing and construction business ownerRichmond builder remembered for his work ethic, humor, and love of life on the water.
6 candles · 1 tributes
Beppe Angiolini1952 – 2026 · Fashion buyer and entrepreneurArezzo fashion buyer who turned a small shop called Sugar into a world famous concept store.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Morton Seaman1932 – 2026 · Furniture retailerBrooklyn furniture man who built Seaman's and co-founded Rooms To Go.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Niki Rapattoni† 2026 · BusinesswomanCo-founder and CEO of Rapattoni Corporation, who helped bring real estate listings onto computer screens.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Bob Brynildson1957 – 2026 · RetailerOwner of The Source Comics and Games in Saint Paul and a co-founder of Trident, Inc.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Joe R. Long1930 – 2026 · LawyerHe gave Texas students a chance and Austin a stage, then told everyone else it was their turn.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Chris Kaag1976 – 2026 · Nonprofit founderMarine veteran who turned AMN into a mission: No Excuses. Just Move.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Wayne B. Harris Sr.1946 – 2026 · liquor board chairmanAnne Arundel liquor board chairman, remembered as a devoted husband and father.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Alan Greenspan1926 – 2026 · EconomistFed chair called the Maestro who steered boom years and later faced the crisis years.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Shigehisa Takada1966 – 2026 · BusinessmanThird-generation head of Takata who led the family company through the largest recall in automotive history.
5 candles · 1 tributes
Leonid Chernega1944 – 2026 · City council chairman and businessmanLed Odesa through the hard first years of Ukrainian independence.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Alan Douglas Nicholson1940 – 2026 · Real estate developerHe turned an abandoned rail yard into the heart of downtown Helena.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Rudolf von Schönburg-Glauchau1932 – 2026 · HotelierThe Conde Rudi, who made the Marbella Club a home for the world and Marbella his own.
4 candles · 1 tributes
M Ghaziul Haque† 2026 · BusinessmanFounding director and twice chairman of Eastern Bank, and a builder of Bangladeshi business.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Gerhard Gribkowsky1958 – 2026 · Bank executiveBayernLB risk chief at the centre of the Formula One bribery case, later killed in a motorcycle crash.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Simon Andriesz† 2026 · Banker and whistleblowerA British banker who spent years making sure his warnings were heard.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Ian McAndrew† 2026 · ChefA chef's chef whose Michelin stars inspired a generation of British cooks.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Nikos Trypatsas† 2026 · Deputy General Manager and Acting General ManagerThe Cyprus Stock Exchange's first hire, he served it for 32 years and helped build the island's modern capital market.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Wicknell Chivayo1982 – 2026 · BusinessmanZimbabwean businessman whose public gifts and disputed tenders made him one of the country's most watched figures.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Ofir Sarid† 2026 · Chief executiveMelisron chief executive who steered Israel's Ofer mall group through growth and change.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Wesley (Wes) Armour† 2026 · Trucking executiveOrder of Canada trucking builder who grew a family fleet into Atlantic Canada's logistics giant.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Jim Ukrop1937 – 2026 · Grocery executiveUkrop's leader who built a Richmond grocery institution and gave the city his time.
4 candles · 1 tributes
George N. Gillett Jr.1938 – 2026 · BusinessmanVail moderniser and restless sports owner who kept coming home to the mountains.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Patience Akyianu† 2026 · BankerFirst woman to lead Barclays Bank Ghana, later Group CEO of Hollard Ghana.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Charles Hampden-Turner1934 – 2026 · Management philosopherBritish management philosopher who created dilemma theory and co-founded Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, teaching leaders to reconcile clashing values.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Stephany Hollihan1984 – 2026 · Fashion designerFounder of Sensi Studio who carried Ecuadorian craft into global fashion.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Sir Ian Wood1942 – 2026 · Businessman and philanthropistHe turned an Aberdeen fishing yard into a global energy group, then shared his luck with Scotland and Africa.
4 candles · 1 tributes
Irvin Stanley Naylor1935 – 2026 · BusinessmanHe built ski slopes for a region, horses for a sport, and a school's future.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Chris Sorensen1960 – 2026 · FirefighterJacksonville firefighter who co-founded Firehouse Subs and gave back to first responders.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Leroy Griffith1932 – 2026 · Theater and nightclub ownerThe Burlesque King who ran more than 70 theaters and outlasted 17 Miami Beach mayors.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Sudi Özkan1939 – 2026 · BusinessmanFrom a grocer's son in Adana to the King of Casinos across 16 countries.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Gilbert Bigio1935 – 2026 · Haitian businessmanHaitian industrialist who built GB Group and left a contested economic legacy.
3 candles · 1 tributes
David Millage1953 – 2026 · LawyerBettendorf lawyer who chaired Iowa House Appropriations and put principle before party post.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Thomas Barnes1955 – 2026 · Nightclub and restaurant operations executiveThe eagle has landed. Tom Barnes, 1955 to 2026, who ran the Pittsburgh nights so many remember.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Okey Ezeibe1959 – 2026 · BusinessmanGreat Iroko of BBA: Trade Fair builder, Awgbu son, counsel to friends.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Charles P. Baker III1925 – 2026 · Businessman and nonprofit founderHe built a workplace for the people who needed it most.
3 candles · 1 tributes
Victor Niederhoffer1943 – 2026 · Hedge fund managerEight-time U.S. squash champion and pioneering speculator who counted everything, fell twice and always came back.
3 candles · 1 tributes
George E. Johnson1927 – 2026 · EntrepreneurHe turned a $250 loan into Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, and put the first Black-owned company on the American Stock Exchange.
3 candles · 1 tributes