“The world class engineer will need to not only have outstanding technical skills, but will need to possess strong leadership characteristics. More CEO's come from engineering backgrounds than any other discipline.”

Jerry E. Goldress

Chairman and CEO
Grisanti, Galef & Goldress, Inc.

Studying industrial engineering was an easy decision for Jerry Goldress. “I was always management oriented so it seemed like a good fit,” he explains.

Jerry received his bachelor’s in 1953, and then decided to attend graduate school. He recalls, “Getting my master’s would not have been possible without a Penn State graduate scholarship and a fellowship from the Foundry Educational Foundation.”

Shortly after graduation, Jerry accepted employment at General Motors in Saginaw, MI, as an industrial engineer. He was promoted to quality assurance engineer the following year.

Eager for a career change, Jerry filled an opening at General Electric in 1956. He spent four years there in quality assurance, first in Fort Wayne, IN, then in Cincinnati, OH.

In 1960, an interest in electronics prompted Jerry to reply to an ad in the Wall Street Journal seeking a quality assurance manager at Raytheon in Waltham, MA. He worked in the company’s Space and Information Systems Division and was promoted four times in five years.

Jerry was recruited in 1965 for a position with Fairchild Industries, an aerospace company, largely because of his turnaround experience gained at Raytheon. A year and a half later he became president of one of their troubled subsidiaries, Burns Aero Seat Co., in Burbank, CA. He remained president until 1973 when he met Frank Grisanti, a turnaround specialist, who had his own business in Los Angeles, CA. Jerry joined the organization, and in 1975 he became a partner. In 1981 he became president, and the Goldress name was added. The firm became Grisanti, Galef & Goldress (GGG), and in 1983 he became principal owner.

As a turnaround specialist and corporate crisis manager since 1965, Jerry has been called a “master of turnaround” by Business Week and a “trouble-shooter extra-ordinaire” by Metal Center News. Since joining GGG in 1973, he has been president of more than 100 manufacturing, distribution, and retail organizations. He has served as GGG’s chairman and CEO since 1981.

Jerry is semi-retired, but still serves as a director of several public and private companies. He resides in Incline Village, NV, with his partner, Kay Bartel. He has two children and four grandchildren.