Fred Gluck
Born 1935 · Age 90
Management consultant and executive; longtime senior partner and Managing Director of McKinsey & Company (1988-1994); later vice-chairman of Bechtel; founder/chairman in biotech (CytomX, Cynvenio); director at Amgen and multiple public, private and non-profit organizations.
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Life & Career Timeline
Graduated Regis High School
Graduated from Regis High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Earned B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College
Received a Bachelor of Science (Electrical Engineering) from Manhattan College.
Earned M.S. in Electrical Engineering from NYU
Received a Master of Science (Electrical Engineering) from New York University.
Joined Bell Telephone Laboratories
Began a 10-year career at Bell Labs in program management, systems analysis/engineering and guidance systems design.
Program Manager – Spartan anti-ICBM missile
Served as program manager for the Spartan anti-ICBM missile program at Bell Labs prior to leaving.
Nominated for Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Young Engineer Award
Bell Labs nominated Gluck for the Eta Kappa Nu Award as the country's Outstanding Young Electrical Engineer.
Joined McKinsey & Company
Left Bell Labs and joined management consultancy McKinsey & Company; began long tenure (1967-1995).
Led McKinsey's technology & strategy practices
Became a leader in McKinsey's technology and strategic management practices; consulted widely in telecom, electronics, heavy machinery and health care.
Appointment announced as McKinsey Managing Director
New York Times reports Gluck has been selected to succeed Ron Daniel as McKinsey's Managing Director (effective 1988).
Assumed role: McKinsey Managing Director (Global Senior Partner)
Became elected Managing Director (chief executive) of McKinsey & Company, serving as global senior partner.
Introduced '15 centers of competence' at McKinsey
At McKinsey, Gluck introduced the concept of fifteen 'centers of competence' to structure firm knowledge and capabilities.
McKinsey doubled in size under his leadership
During the six years Gluck led the firm (1988-1994), McKinsey doubled in size and expanded internationally (Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America).
Term ended as McKinsey Managing Director; succeeded by Rajat Gupta
Completed two terms as Managing Director (1988-1994); Rajat Gupta succeeded him.
Joined The Bechtel Group as Vice Chairman and Director
Became Vice Chairman and a Director at engineering and construction firm The Bechtel Group (served 1994-1998).
Retired from McKinsey (end of 1967–1995 tenure)
Concluded active employment as a senior partner at McKinsey after ~28 years; transitioned to other industry roles.
Became Director at Amgen (approx. start)
Began service as a director of Amgen, Inc. (retired after 13 years in 2010); Bloomberg lists him as director.
Became Director of HCA, Inc.
Joined board of HCA, Inc., operator of hospitals and health care systems (served 1998–2007).
Rejoined McKinsey as Consultant
Rejoined McKinsey & Company as a consultant to the firm, serving 1998–July 2003.
Retired from Bechtel
Retired from The Bechtel Group in July 1998 after serving as Vice Chairman and Director.
Active philanthropic and advisory roles at UCSB and KITP
Became Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Kavli Foundation at UCSB; trustee of UCSB Foundation and involved in campaign steering committee.
Honorary doctorate from Hofstra University (date not specified in sources)
Holds an honorary doctorate from Hofstra University (official year not specified by sources; recorded by KITP profile).
Member / Director of multiple corporate and non-profit boards
Served on Harvard Business School Board of Directors of the Associates; Management Education Council of Wharton; Council on Foreign Relations; Board of International Executive Service Corps; Russell Reynolds Associates; Advisory Board of Tennenbaum Capital Partners; RAND Health advisory roles, etc.
Director of GVI Security Solutions
Served as a director of GVI Security Solutions Inc., a public video security solutions company (2004–2005).
Served as Chairman & CEO of CytomX (initial phase)
Acted as Chairman and CEO of CytomX during the first ~2 years to guide technology development and market definition.
Co-founded CytomX Therapeutics (founder)
Founded CytomX (initially a private venture) to commercialize technologies including microfluidics and tumor-activated therapeutics; served as Chairman & CEO during initial two years of development.
Presiding Director of HCA
Served as Presiding Director of HCA, Inc. during 2006–2007, prior to the company's LBO in 2007.
HCA LBO and end of HCA directorship
HCA underwent a leveraged buyout in 2007; Gluck's formal director service at HCA concluded that year (served 1998–2007).
Named first Lifetime Award winner of McKinsey Gluck Awards
McKinsey established the annual Gluck Awards for Knowledge Building and named Fred Gluck the first Lifetime Award winner at a conference of former Senior Partners.
Chairman of CytomX & Cynvenio (public note)
Since January 2008 served as chairman of both CytomX Therapeutics LLC and Cynvenio Biosystems LLC (private medical technology companies).
Spun off Cynvenio Biosystems from CytomX
CytomX activities led to a Cynvenio spin-off (2008); Gluck continued as chairman of both entities.
Funded Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics at UCSB
Provided a gift of US$1,000,000 to endow the Frederick W. Gluck Chair of Theoretical Physics at UCSB, inspired and initially held by David Gross.
Retired from Amgen board after 13 years
Retired from 13 years of service as a director of AMGEN (Thousand Oaks, CA) in 2010.
Governor Emeritus / Long service at New York–Presbyterian and New York Hospital
Served many years in leadership at New York Hospital, became Vice-Chairman there before its merger with Columbia-Presbyterian and later held Emeritus status after long service (reported ~47 years of involvement with New York hospital activities).
Featured in books on McKinsey's history
Gluck's contributions to corporate strategy and McKinsey's development are discussed in Walter Kiechel's 'Lords of Strategy' and Duff McDonald's 'The Firm'.
Investor & Co-Chairman of TrueVision until sale to Alcon
Served as an investor and Co-Chairman of TrueVision (heads-up HDTV surgical systems) until its sale to Alcon (source notes sale but date unspecified; sale approximated here).
CytomX reported multiple clinical programs and partnerships
CytomX platform advanced to multiple clinical-stage programs and entered partnerships with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen, AbbVie and ImmunoGen; company reported substantial non-dilutive financing and a strong balance sheet (source notes >$300M cash at time of writing).
CytomX Therapeutics listed on NASDAQ (IPO)
CytomX completed an initial public offering and listed on NASDAQ in October 2015.
Cynvenio renamed (now LungLife AI) and listed on London AIM (company milestone)
Cynvenio later became LungLife AI and pursued public listing on London's AIM exchange (dates for rename/listing are noted in source as occurring after its spin-off).
Active as entrepreneur, board advisor, and CEO counselor
After moving to Montecito (ca. 1998) continued as entrepreneur in biotech/medical equipment and provided CEO counseling on a retainer basis; remained active in civic and philanthropic leadership.
Listed as Director Emeritus and ongoing director roles
Listed in profiles (Wikipedia/Bloomberg/KITP) as Director Emeritus and director at public/private and non-profit organizations, including past director at Amgen and current chair roles for biotech companies.
Key Achievement Ages
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