John Riordan:
CLASS OF 1955
Belleville High SchoolClass of 1955
Belleville, NJ
Montclair State UniversityClass of 1959
Montclair, NJ
Montclair State UniversityClass of 1959
Montclair, NJ
Montclair State Teacher's CollegeClass of 1959
Montclair, NJ
Seton Hall UniversityClass of 1958
South orange, NJ
John's Story
Life Up-date as of September '09.
Graduated from BHS in 55 I went to Montclair State. Finished in 3 1/2 years and went to work teaching in Princeton NJ in January of 1959. Was graduated in June. Taught Junior and Senior High School foreign languages. Left to run Dartmouth abroad (France, Spain, Africa) for a year. Studied for MA in Europe where I first went in '57 on scholarship to Spain. Finished MA in Canada in '63 at Laval University. Took position at State University of New York teaching French. Stayed only l term when recruited by McGraw-Hill to edit and consult on new foreign language programs. Worked in NYC and then moved to St. Louis with that company. There the best thing that happened was I met my wife, Mary Fleming, who came to work for McGraw having done so in New York. Mary's is from Union City in Hudson county--where Essex Co people seldom went. So just a few miles from Belleville but it took several thousand to get to St. Louis to meet. Left McGraw when recruited by the Educational Testing Service, once again in Princeton. By then our first child. We've had a total of six. The first is now about to have her first at 37 years of age. She's senior merchandiser of men's clothing for all MACY stores nationwide.(Lawrence Academy, UConn) Next a boy, now a Sr. VP and Principal of Fidelity Capital in Boston.
(Exeter Academy, UPenn Wharton School, Harvard B School). Father of two, a girl now 12 and a boy now 8. Next a boy, now a principal in Cavlert Street Partners in Baltimore, an investment bank. (Exeter, UPenn, Columbia B School) Father of two all at once, twins. One boy one girl, now l year old. Next a girl, just married to an Englishman but living in Washington. He's with the world bank. She's a psychological counselor. (Exeter, Tufts, Tufts MA and Catholic U) Next a boy now a designer and builder of wooden yachts in Maine. Married last fall. (Exeter, Georgetown, three years in Tasmania, Australia). Next and last a girl, now finishing an art degree at the College of Art in Maine. She is also a certified floral designer. (St. George's School, Newport RI, Hobart College, College of Art in Maine). While we now live in a great old house we refurbished on the water on Cape Cod, the children all grew up until prep school days on a great old farm in Georgetown nort...Expand for more
h of Boston. We'd had a summer home on the Cape and decided that our "retirement" one would be here as once the kids were away when the did come back in summers it was to Cape Cod. I left ETS in l967 to join Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston which is what got us to New England in the first place. Eventually rose to director and Group VP for Educational Publishing. Had a falling out with myh boss. He had the votes, is still wrong. I didn't but am still right. Too a leave to do a middle aged MBA at Harvard B School in l980 Left publishing in late l981 and went back to education with the International Council of Shopping Centers in l982. Became the CEO in l986. It is the worldwide trade assocation of the shopping center industry. In l982 was more or less up against it with membership falling. Today it has 50,000 members in 90 countries and is still growing. Retired in 2003 after giving up CEO job to become Vice Chair in 2001 when I became the full time Chairman of the Massachusetts Institue of Technology Center for Real Estate. Retired from both posts in 2003. Still keep active as head of the ICSC Edukcational Foundation, with the now named John T. Riordan Schools for Professional Education, as a director of General Growth Properties, the largest owner (by number) of malls in the US and serve as advisor to certain pension fund advisors and retailers internationally, notaly Ivanhoe/Cambridge of which I am a director, the affiliate of the Caisse de Depot et de Placement du Quebec, the largest such fund in Canada. To date 11 Grandchildren. No pets. Few hobbies. Love travel. Do a lot of it and much internationally. Good health having lost 50 pounds some 5 years ago and keeping it off. Keep an apartment in New Jersey on the Palisades in North Bergen overlooking New York as I am frequently there. Attended 50th anniversary of Montclair Class in '09 and BHS one earlier. Addendum: Grandkids counst now 13. Now 78. Had triole by-pass, kidney removed and several other ailments resulting in strong support for geriatric medicine on Cape Cod. Honoarry dooctorate from Montclair in '11, now Chair of Board of Visitors to MSU's colleges of the humanities and social sciences. Trustee for life of International Council of Shopping Centers. Back in good--very good--health and keeping busy.
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