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Frances Hesselbein

American businesswoman (1915–2022)

Frances Hesselbein (November 1, 1915 – December 11, 2022) was an American businesswoman and writer. She was the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, from 1976 to 1990, and the president and CEO of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Non-Profit Management, the Leader to Leader Institute, and the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute, which later became the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Frances Hesselbein (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Nov 1, 1915, died Dec 11, 2022.1

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedUniversity of Pittsburgh at Johnstown3

Career

Occupation: entrepreneur, editing staff, opinion journalist, businessperson, writer.5

Hesselbein took classes at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Junior College in 1936.

Between 1965 and 1976, she rose from volunteer troop leader to CEO and held the position of CEO for thirteen years until 1990. During her tenure, the Girl Scouts attained a membership of 2.25 million girls with a workforce of 780,000, mainly volunteers.

In 1990, Hesselbein left the Girl Scouts to run the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly known as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management). After Drucker's death in 2005, the foundation was renamed after Hesselbein in 2012; it is now known as the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute.

In 2009, she helped to found the Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh.

Hesselbein is the co-editor of 27 books published in 29 languages and the author of Hesselbein on Leadership and My Life in Leadership.

Hesselbein was on the boards of the Mutual of America Life Insurance Company, the Bright China Social Fund, California Institute of Advanced Management, and the Teachers College, Columbia University Presidents Advisory Council.

From Wikipedia’s article on Frances Hesselbein (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornNov 1, 1915, Johnstown6
  • DiedDec 11, 2022, Easton7 8
  • CitizenshipUnited States9

Frances Hesselbein was married to John Hesselbein. She died at her home in Easton, Pennsylvania, on December 11, 2022, at the age of 107.

From Wikipedia’s article on Frances Hesselbein (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 1998Presidential Medal of Freedom10 11

Sources

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