Krentzman never forgot Northeastern

Board of Trustees vice chairman emeritus Harvey “Chet” Krentzman, E’49, H’91, known for his business acumen and tireless commitment to his alma mater, died in December at age seventy-nine.

Krentzman is remembered by family, friends, and colleagues as a man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to become a highly successful businessman and philanthropist.

Named a trustee in 1983, Krentzman worked closely with three Northeastern presidents: Kenneth Ryder, John Curry, and Richard Freeland. He chaired Phase II of the Century Fund, a capital campaign that raised more than $180 million for Northeastern between 1987 and 1991.

Krentzman also donated his own funds to help transform the university’s main quadrangle from an expanse of asphalt to a leafy, attractive gathering spot. In 1996, the quad was named for him.

Following World War II, after spending two years as a U.S. Army staff sergeant, Krentzman earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Northeastern, then a master’s in engineering  in 1950 and an MBA in 1952, both from Harvard.

In 1955, he founded his own consulting firm, Advanced Management Associates, which specializes in solving the problems of small businesses or units within large companies. He was serving as the firm’s president at the time of his death.

In 1959, he helped create the Small Business Institute at Northeastern’s School of Continuing Education. Nine years later, he authored Managing for Profits, a practical guide for entrepreneurs on dealing with day-to-day operations.

Krentzman also helped establish the annual Presidents at Pops concert, which has raised tens of millions of dollars for the Boston Symphony Orchestra over the past twenty-four years.

“He was always thankful for the education he received at Northeastern,” says his son Scott, E’89, who adds that many relatives followed in his father’s footsteps and sought a Northeastern education, including Scott’s older brother, Mark, BA’77.

The eighth child of immigrant parents, Krentzman grew up in Chelsea, from which he commuted to attend Northeastern.

Robert Marini, E’54, H’97, chairman emeritus of Camp Dresser & McKee, attributes Krentzman’s devotion to Northeastern to his belief that “if it wasn’t for the university, we wouldn’t have gotten to where we did.”

Besides his affiliation with Northeastern and the Boston Symphony, Krentzman was also a trustee of the Norman Rockwell Museum, the U.S.S. Constitution Museum, and Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In addition, he served as the founding director of the Gorbachev Foundation of North America.

• E Line Story Index