Henry Segerstrom

Henry T. Segerstrom
Henry Thomas Segerstrom, Founding Chairman of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
Born	Henry Thomas Segerstrom April 5, 1923 Santa Ana, California
Died	February 20, 2015(2015-02-20) (aged 91)
Education	Stanford University, BA Stanford Graduate School of Business, MBA
Occupation	Managing Partner, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons
Organization	Founding Chairman, Orange County Performing Arts Center, now known as the Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Known for	Henry T. Segerstrom was known for his entrepreneurship, philanthropy, cultural leadership and patronage of the arts
Website	www.henrysegerstrom.com

Stanford University, BA

Henry Thomas Segerstrom (April 5, 1923 – February 20, 2015) was an American philanthropist, entrepreneur, cultural leader, and patron of the arts. Managing Partner of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, he was the founding chairman of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, now known as the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Henry Thomas Segerstrom was born into a Swedish immigrant family in Santa Ana, California. A farming family, the Segerstroms moved from dairy farming to cultivating alfalfa, eventually specializing in the production and harvesting of lima beans. They would become the largest producers of dried lima bean in the United States.

In 1939, Henry T. Segerstrom was named valedictorian of Santa Ana High School where he also served as class president. Months later, at age 17 he enrolled in Stanford University, eventually earning a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Stanford Business School in 1948. His education was interrupted by World War II; he joined the war effort after Pearl Harbor, in 1942.

Enlisting in the U.S. Army on June 24, 1942, Henry T. Segerstrom was deployed to the European front as a private in the field artillery, rising to the rank of captain. In France, he was severely wounded in action during one of the deadliest engagements of the war, The Battle of the Bulge. Facing years of recuperation for shrapnel injuries to his hand, forearm, lower back and forehead , he returned to California via Dibble General Hospital in Menlo Park. Determined to finish his education at Stanford University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, then enrolled in the Stanford Graduate School of Business, earning his Masters of Business Administration. In 1945, Henry T. Segerstrom was awarded the Purple Heart and the European Theater of Operations Ribbon with Battle Star. He remained on active duty until 1947.

As managing partner of the family-owned company, C. J. Segerstrom and Sons, a commercial real estate and retail management organization established in 1898, Henry T. Segerstrom spearheaded commercial development in Orange County, California. Under his guidance, C.J. Segerstrom and Sons transformed a quiet agricultural community into a lively, international destination known as South Coast Metro. In March 1967, Henry T. Segerstrom, along with his cousin Hal T. Segerstrom, Jr., opened a shopping center called South Coast Plaza in one of the family's lima bean fields in rapidly growing Orange County. Originally anchored by a May Company that had opened in late 1966 and Sears, the initial phase of the center was designed by Victor Gruen. It was built the same year as The Irvine Company's Fashion Island in neighboring Newport Beach. South Coast Plaza draws more than 18 million visitors annually to some of the country's most desirable luxury shopping. Envisioning a complex mixture of resources that would come to surround South Coast Plaza, retail and commercial developments integrated the arts into Segerstrom commercial developments.