Tener Eckelberry

Tener Eckelberry, an international executive whose later career encompassed the World Bank’s African privatization projects of the 90s, died at the age of 83 on October 23 in Condom, (Gers), France. The cause of death was Legionnaire’s Disease.

Eckelberry was born on November 5, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of John W. and Roberta M.F. (Tener) Eckelberry. The family moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1930, then to Wilmington, Delaware and finally to Upper Montclair, New Jersey in 1947. His father was a lawyer, later a corporate attorney, and in 1955 he was appointed County Judge of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

In June 1942, the young Eckelberry attended the Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware before graduating from the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Accepted into Harvard University, his education was interrupted by World War II. On June 23, 1943 he entered military service with the US Army. He saw action for two years in the European Theater of Operations and served notably in the Normandy landings and the Battle of the Bulge. He was a Corporal Gunner and was awarded a Purple Heart.

Eckelberry returned to Harvard after the War, graduating in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts, with a major in History, a lifelong passion. On October 16, 1948 he wed Radcliff alumna Renee Duke, of New York, NY. They had six sons, Tener Riggs Jr, Marc, Nicholas, Anthony, Stephen and Alexander.

After graduation, Eckelberry moved to New York and started as a trainee at the Grace Bank, then moving to McCann Erickson as a research analyst. In 1951, he was recruited to the Overseas Division of Procter & Gamble. He served as an executive for the company in Canada, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Paris and Belgium. In Belgium he rejoined McCann Erickson for a time but in 1961 became President of the European branch of Rexall Drug & Chemical, where he oversaw the development of the Tupperware brand in Europe and elsewhere.

Eckelberry returned to Paris in 1963. In 1967 he founded a private merchant bank specializing in acquisitions, joint ventures, and financial engineering, which continued until 1976. He divorced Renee Duke in 1968 and in 1974 he married Elisabeth (Emma) Wills in Chantilly, France. They divorced in 1989. Emma and their daughter Ann now live in Chantilly. Ann is married to French thoroughbred trainer Mikel Delzangles.

In 1976 Eckelberry was appointed to launch and manage Cogenel, the US subsidiary of the French firm Compagnie Générale d’Electricité (CGE) in New York City. During this period he carried out a long list of US acquisitions for the company. Between 1983 and 1985 he was a partner for North America of a Swiss based management consulting firm, Carré Orban Partners.
In 1985 Tener began working with USAID in Washington DC. During this time he led a mission to study investment possibilities in Cameroon. He remained with USAID until 1989.

Between May 1989 and December 1991 he was the first president and CEO of African Management Services Company (AMSCO), a consortium of multinational and governmental bodies based in Amsterdam. The company provided management and training to private sector African companies.

In Amsterdam, he met Patricia (Patsy) Boom. The two married in March 2006 in New York, and remained together until his death.

In February 1992 he served as the sole advisor to the Government of Burkina Faso on a World Bank-sponsored privatization program. He followed up this assignment with similar assignments in Tanzania, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Algeria among others.

He was named a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1980 for his many efforts on behalf of France.

Tener retired to Condom, in France’s Armagnac region. He is survived by his sons, his daughter and 11 grandchildren; his wife Patsy; his brother, John Eckelberry of Syosset, New York; and his sister, Roberta Borden of Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

# # #

Photo by Simon Cole.