Harold A. Sorgenti
The information listed below is current as of the date the transcript was finalized.
Interview Details
Interview Sessions
Abstract of Interview
Harold Sorgenti begins the interview by discussing his family background and childhood. He attended public school in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated City College with a BS in chemical engineering. During his early life, Sorgenti faced the harshness of blatant prejudice aimed at his Italian heritage. He was able to find a job after college at Battelle Memorial Institute, with the help of a government quota for minorities. While working in research there, Sorgenti received his masters in chemical engineering from Ohio State University. After four years at Battelle, Sorgenti left to work in research for Atlantic Richfield Oil Corporation (ARCO). Sorgenti had a highly productive research career and invented several production processes, such as making benzene from toluene by hydrodealkylation. Because of his exemplary managerial skills and ability to take risks, Sorgenti was promoted first to director of development and then to head to research and engineering at ARCO. Eventually, he became the president of ARCO Chemical, a subdivision of ARCO. Sorgenti urged the company’s CEO, Robert Anderson, to buy control of Oxirane, which Sorgenti later built in to a highly successful company. From the beginning of his presidency in 1979, to his retirement in 1991, Sorgenti increased ARCO’s net worth by two billion dollars. Sorgenti has always believed that a manager’s most important job was to provide safety for his employees. He felt that shareholders were preventing him from accomplishing that task at ARCO, so he resigned and then co-founded the Freedom Chemical Company. There, Sorgenti helped organize many transactions, including one with the Kalama Chemical Company. When Freedom’s investment partner, JLL, decided to sell the company to B.F. Goodrich, Sorgenti founded a new company named, Sorgenti Investment Partners. Throughout his career, Sorgenti has joined many corporate boards, and worked hard to make the selection of new executives and board members an open process. Sorgenti ends the interview by reflecting on his philanthropic involvements and family life.
Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | City College of New York | BS | Chemical Engineering |
| 1959 | Ohio State University | MS | Chemical Engineering |
Professional Experience
Battelle Memorial Institute
Atlantic Refining Company (ARCO)
Atlantic Richfield Oil Company (ARCO)
ARCO Chemical Company
Freedom Chemical Company
Sorgenti Investment Partners
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Leadership Award, Junior Achievement of Delaware Valley |
| 1981 | Business and Industry Award, Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Inc. |
| 1981 | Achievement Award, National Italian American Foundation |
| 1982 | Industrialist of the Year Award, Society of Industrial Realtors |
| 1982 | Beta Gamma Sigma Honoree |
| 1982 | Honorary Doctor of Law Degree, Villanova University |
| 1982 | Civic Achievement Award, American Jewish Committee Human Relations |
| 1983 | Benjamin G. Lamme Medal, Ohio State University, College of Engineering |
| 1983 | Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, Saint Joseph's University |
| 1983 | Distinguished Service Award, Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Inc. (OIC), Leon Sullivan, Founder |
| 1984 | "Commendotore" Order of Merit, Republic of Italy |
| 1985 | William Penn Award, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce |
| 1985 | Drum Major Award for Corporate Justice, Martin Luther King Association for Non-Violence |
| 1991 | Memorial Award, Chemical Market Research Association |
| 1991 | Philip H. Ward Medal, Franklin Institute |
| 1991 | Honor Award, Commercial Development Association |
| 1991 | Business Leader of the Year Award, Drexel University |
| 1991 | Campaign for Citizen Power Award, League of Women Voters |
| 1992 | "Touching Lives" Award, Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Philadelphia Area |
| 1992 | Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Ohio State University |
Table of Contents
Birth during the Great Depression. Grandparents' emigration from Italy. Education. Summer job as Good Humor man. Uncle's electroplating business.
Private school quotas. Parents' belief in equality. Attending City College of New York. Businesses, minorities, and hiring practices. Blatant prejudice. Effects of World War II.
Race as primary reason for hire. Move to Ohio. Creative environment. Becoming an expert in nitric acid production. Masters at Ohio State University.
Move to Philadelphia. Research. Prejudiced environment. Robert Anderson. Process for soft detergents. Process to produce benzene by hydrodealkylation. Director of development at Sinclair Laboratories. Promotion to head of research and engineering at ARCO.
Bill Keishnick. Bob Bent. Dick Bressler. Becoming president of ARCO Chemical. Reasons for quick promotions. Pacemaker business. Centennial Hydrocarbon joint venture. Oxirane and Halcon International. Cyril C. Baldwin. MTBE and gasoline. Herbert Denenberg. Taking ARCO Chemical global. Not in full control over company. Promoting diversity. Plant explosion. Lodwrick Cook. Senior vice president of manufacturing position. Leaving ARCO Chemical. Bill Flaherty.
Formation of Freedom Chemical. Finding investment partners. Treating employees well. Fred Rullo. Gordon Cain. Going public. Equity and returns. Finding good deals and contacts. Acquisitions. Philip Kamins. Hilton-Davis Company. Kalama Chemical Company. Kick-backs and pay-offs. Joseph Littlejohn and Levy investment firm and selling Freedom Chemical Company. Management's obligations to employees.
The Opportunities Industrial Center. Reverend Sullivan. Summer Job Program. Philadelphia Orchestra board. Chemical Manufacturers Association. Operation Dialogue.
Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company. CoreStates Financial Corporation. Morey Dorrance. O'Brien Energy Systems. Frank O'Brien. Crown Cork and Seal. The Pennsylvania Academy. Henry McNeil. University of the Arts. Changing prejudiced views. Chamber of Commerce. W. Thatcher Longstreth.
Raising a fund. Foamex. Marshall Cogan. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. Cartel activity. Propylene oxide. Conditions for profitability. Chinese successes.
Meeting and marrying Ann Sorgenti. Erlen Neighbors Association. Daughters Beth and Lucy. Wynn Hannock business. Breast Cancer. Robert's death. Bianca Ottone and family history.
The life of Harold A. Sorgenti presented through photographs.
About the Interviewer
Arnold Thackray founded the Chemical Heritage Foundation and served the organization as president for 25 years. He is currently CHF’s chancellor. Thackray received MA and PhD degrees in history of science from Cambridge University. He has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford University, and Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In 1983 Thackray received the Dexter Award from the American Chemical Society for outstanding contributions to the history of chemistry. He served for more than a quarter century on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding chairman of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and is currently the Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus.