Biographies

Paul R. Judy

Paul Ray Judy

Paul R. Judy

Name:
Paul R. Judy

Born:
February 18, 1931

Joined AGB:
1958

Primary Dept/Div:
Executive

Primary Office:
Chicago

As of 7/15/1977: Paul R. Judy was president, chief executive officer, a director and executive committee chairman of The Becker Warburg Paribas Group. He also served as chairman of A.G. Becker and was chairman of the executive committee and a director of all The Group’s subsidiaries. Paul joined the firm in Chicago as a corporate finance associate in 1958 and transferred to New York in 1962 where he developed and managed Eastern corporate finance activities until returning to Chicago as chairman of the executive committee in 1965. He was elected President of A.G. Becker & Co. Incorporated in 1968 and Chairman in 1973. Paul received a B.A. degree, cum laude, from Harvard College (1953) and an M.B.A. degree with high distinction from Harvard Business School (1957). Before joining the company, he served as a research assistant at Harvard Business School.

For more information about Paul’s role in Becker, see the Chronicle, About Paul R. Judy, and the Epilogue sections of this website.

Obituary: Naples Daily News

Paul R. Judy, a resident of Naples, passed away on February 24, 2024, at home.

Born in 1931, Paul grew up in Muncie, Indiana. At age 12 he started delivering newspapers, and he hardly stopped working for the next 80 years. Paul went to Harvard College on an NROTC scholarship, lettered in track and cross country, and graduated cum laude in 1953. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps (retiring as Captain) then attended Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

Upon graduation, Paul joined Chicago-based investment banking firm A.G. Becker & Company, helping build the corporate finance departments in Chicago and New York. In 1967, at age 37, he was elected company president, leading Becker’s significant tenfold growth, diversification, and recognition in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974 he led the affiliation of Becker with leading European investment firms S. G. Warburg and Banque de Paribas. He stepped down as chief executive of the Becker Warburg Paribas Group in 1978 and retired at age 50, in 1981. Never one to fully retire, Paul served as an independent director of numerous public and private corporations into the early 1990s.

In 1954, Paul married the love of his life, Mary Ann Judy, in Charlottesville, Va. Their children are Carol Cronin (David), Hannah Judy Gretz, John Judy (Sanni), and Beth Judy. They have seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

An avid golfer from age 14, Paul had to his lifetime credit two holes-in-one, a double eagle and some sub-par rounds. He cherished memberships in Hole-in-the-Wall (Naples, FL), Old Elm (Highland Park, IL), and Sankaty Head (Siasconset, MA) golf clubs.

Historical research and writing was another passion. Paul researched, authored and published various pieces, including a monograph detailing the origins of Sankaty Head Golf Club and a biography of Nantucket golf legend Oswald Tupancy (“Tup”). He also published a comprehensive history of A. G. Becker and Company, https://agbecker.us/.

Symphonic music was another great love. Paul served as President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, then Life Trustee. In the early 1990s, his nonprofit Symphony Orchestra Institute explored radically different, more sustainable structures for orchestral organizations. From 2012 to his death, Paul practiced what he preached, helping transform the Chicago Philharmonic Society into a musician-governed organization.

Paul believed strongly in philanthropy, establishing scholarships, awards, and a family foundation. To honor our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, please consider a donation to the Chicago Philharmonic Excellence Fund, https://givebutter.com/cVrN5r

Other Photos:

A.G.Becker & Co., Inc. Board of Directors, Late 1965. Seated, left to right: Vince Flett, Bill Mabie, James Becker, Paul Judy, Irv Sherman; standing, left to right: Roger Brown, Herb Schaffner, Mac Skall, Jack Connor, Jim Lewis, Harry Weber, Don Pearson, Maury Cann, and Dave Heller.
Board of Directors, A.G.Becker & Col, Inc. Mid -1966. Accross and around the table, from right to left: Herb Schaffner, Maury Cann, Roger Brown, Harry Weber, Mac Skall, Bill Mabie, Irv Sherman, James Becker, Paul Judy, Vince Flett, Don Pearson, Jack Connor, Jim Lewis, and Dave Heller.
Board of Directors and Former Directors, A.G.Becker & Co., Inc. December, 1967. Sitting, left to right: Jim Lewis, Don Pearson, Paul Judy, James Becker, Roger Brown, Jack Connor, Dave Heller; standing, left to right: Herb Schaffner, Ken Nelson, Mac Skall, Steve Weiss, Bill Mabie, John Mabie, Harry Weber, Dave Dattelbaum, Dick Gilder, Irv Sherman, Vince Flett, and Joe Levin.
Board of Directors, A.G.Becker & Co., Inc. 1968-69. Sitting, left to right: Roger Brown, Jim Lewis, Dave Dattelbaum, Harry Weber, James Becker, Irv Sherman, Bill Mabie, Ken Nelson; stanfing left to right: Mac Skall, Steve Weiss, Dave Heller, Bill Cockrum, Burt Weiss, Jack Connor, Al Kopin, John Mabie, and Paul Judy.
Board of Directors, A.G.Becker & Co., Inc. 1970. Sitting, left to right: Ray Ryan, John Mabie, Fred Moss, Roger Brown, Paul Judy, Jack Connor, Dave Peterson, Burt Weiss, Bob Vance; Standing, left to right: Bill Cockrum, Jack Donahue, Mac Skall, Jack Wing, John Levy, and Ray Holland.
Board of Directors, A.G.Becker & Co., Inc. 1973. Front standing, left to right: Stu Gassel, Dan Good, Fred Moss, Ken Nelson, Paul Judy, Ray Holland, Bob Vance; rear standing, left to right: John Levy, Jack Donahue, John Mabie, Bill Cockrum, and Burt Weiss.
Board of Directors, A.G.Becker & Co., Inc. Early 1974. Sitting, left to right: Roger Brown, Bill Cockrum, Mac Skall, Paul Judy, Ken Nelson; standing, left to right: Dave Heller, Fred Moss, John Mabie, Jack Donahue, Al Kopin, Jack Connor, Jack Wing, Ed Dugan, and John Levy.
AGB-WPB Board of Directors, 1980. Standing in front, left to right: Geoffrey Seligman, Jack Hyland, David Scholey, Ira Wender, Pierre Haas, Dan Good, Fred Moss; standing in rear, left to right: Rudy Peterson, Paul Judy, Ronnie Grierson, Francois Morin, Jack Donahue, Michel Francois-Poncet, John Mabie, and Bill Cockrum.
OI#410 From left to right: Paul Judy, Ray Ryan, Fred Moss, and Jack Connor.
OI#454 Wing, Judy and Seligman
OI#453 Seligman, Judy and Moussa
P.R.Judy at a younger age.

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