Allen Questrom would have been a ski instructor if he didn’t choose a career in retailing, and Boston University is thankful he took the store route.
On Monday, Questrom and his wife Kelli revealed they have donated $50 million to Boston University’s School of Management, which has been renamed the Questrom School of Business. The Questroms’ gift, the largest ever received by the university, will endow 10 faculty chairs and enable planning to establish a new graduate program facility.
“Seriously, I would have been a ski instructor,” Questrom told WWD. But upon graduating from BU’s School of Management in 1964, one of his professors, the late Alan Beckwith who taught retail management, arranged some interviews for Questrom, including one at Abraham & Straus, where Questrom began his retail career in the executive training program.
“He made this commitment for me. I wanted to honor that. There was also no snow that day. That was the difference between going into retailing and skiing,” Questrom said. “Professor Beckwith was a very inspiring fellow for me and everybody in the class. He invited different guest speakers from the industry and presented these wonderful case studies. Everybody loved this guy. He made a special effort for me to go into retail.”
Questrom went on to become chairman and chief executive officer of Neiman Marcus, Federated Department Stores, Barneys New York and J.C. Penney, in that order. Known for his turnaround skills and big-picture strategic thinking, Questrom stabilized Penney’s when it teetered on insolvency, led Federated and Barneys out of their bankruptcies and spearheaded the acquisition of rivals The Broadway Stores and Macy’s.
“I encourage people to go into business school and find something they really like,” whether it’s retailing or some other field, Questrom said. “Retailing turned out to be my sport of choice in the end. I really liked to go to work everyday.”
Questrom retired from retailing in 2005, after his six-year Penney’s stint. He’s currently a senior adviser of Lee Equity Partners and a member of BU’s Board of Trustees. He serves as a director of the Glazer’s Family of Companies, and sits on the boards of the Men’s Wearhouse and the At Home retail chains. He is also on the board of advisers of The Robin Report. He still skis.
Kelli, a former fashion promoter, has been an activist fighting AIDS and homelessness and has been an advocate for women’s preventative medicine, the arts and education. The Questroms have been married for 45 years.
“In the world of academia, having the name of a highly successful couple helps raise our profile. We can recruit the best possible faculty and best possible students, vaulting us to be among the great business schools of the world. It’s an honor for us,” said Kenneth Freeman, whose Allen Questrom deanship and professorship were endowed by an earlier gift from the Questroms. The $50 million gift unveiled Monday includes the $10 million gift that Questroms gave to the school in 2012.