Robert (Bob) E. Lienhard was an Executive in Boston Consulting Group.
1,2 He was educated in Massachusetts Inst. of Technology/ University of Chicago.
2 Robert E. (Bob) Lienhard died peacefully at his home in Madison, Conn., on Sunday evening, June 6, with family at his side. He was 72. For more than 20 years he spent summers at the family home on Abel’s Hill in Chilmark, enjoying the beach, great seafood, family and friends.
For the past 14 years, Bob dealt heroically with the challenges of Parkinson’s disease. Despite the increasing frustrations and limitations brought on by this unrelenting disease, his positive spirit and pursuit of adventure did not abandon him. Even in recent years, he would still enthusiastically seek his favorite things, ranging from a few scoops of his favorite ice creams at the local shop to cheering on his beloved Red Sox in person.
He was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was president of the class of 1960, and where he was a proud and active member of Lambda Chi Alpha. In addition, he earned his master’s in business administration with honors from the graduate school of business at the University of Chicago in 1961.
Bob’s unique blend of intelligence, strategic thinking, and warmth created a legacy of business success and deep, enduring friendships. His professional career was characterized by important roles in the evolving world of international business. He began his professional life with Standard Oil of New Jersey with early assignments in Peru and Colombia. Following his time with Standard Oil, he joined the nascent Boston Consulting Group as one of its early partners. He applied his background in international business as he conducted BCG’s first projects in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador and Brazil. He later established offices in Italy and Germany, thus laying the foundation for the evolution of BCG into a leading global management consulting firm.
Following his 14 years at the Boston Consulting Group, he continued his career with BOC International Group and Forte Group, PLC. He retired in 1997.
Bob was a true citizen of the world, having lived and worked in many countries outside of the United States, including Peru, Colombia, Italy, Germany and England. He was proud of his Swiss heritage, and spent many happy hours at his home in Klosters, Switzerland hiking and skiing with family and friends over the past four decades. He also found great joy during his many summers on the Vineyard where his friends will miss his warm smile, gentle manner and keen intellect. His Vineyard experiences include many hours of playing bridge, long walks in earlier years enjoying the conservation trails, cookouts on South Beach, and fulfilling his community duty as president of the Abel’s Hill Association.
Bob is survived by his loving wife Mary; his daughter Debra Lortie and her husband Brian of Paoli, Pa.; his sons Thomas Lienhard and his wife Kirsten of Arlington, and Robert Lienhard of London, England; and grandchildren Alexandra and Dana Lortie, Hannah and Noah Lienhard, and Xavier and Sebastian Little.
A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 26, at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Madison, Conn.
Bob’s family would be grateful for memorial contributions to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (michaeljfox.org).