Kenneth Langone - March 31, 2011

For Kenneth Langone, co-founder of Home Depot and former director of the New York Stock Exchange and the founder and chief executive officer of Invemed Associates LLC., a New York Stock Exchange firm, the essence of leadership is not complicated.

 

“Treat people with respect and dignity,” Mr. Langone told the upper school student body assembled for the Leadership Lecture Series presentation held March 31 in the Healey Athletic Complex gymnasium.

“At Home Depot, we consider the people who work with us as associates, rather than employees,” he said. “A highly effective leader recognizes the worth of everyone, especially those who others may consider ‘the little guy’.”

Mr. Langone credits his success to valuing others and to his strong work ethic. Son to a plumber and a cafeteria worker, Mr. Langone was raised in a close-knit Italian family in Roslyn Heights, New York. “It’s important to never loose sight of your past,” he said. 

His parents mortgaged their house to send Mr. Langone to Bucknell University where he majored in economics and political science, and finished in 3½ years. “I worked a variety of jobs, including a butcher's helper, caddy, and ditch-digger,” said Mr. Langone. “I learned something valuable from each one of those experiences.”

Mr. Langone went on to earn his MBA at New York University Stern School of Business and to build a dynamic career in entrepreneurship and on Wall Street. He and his two partners raised a mere $2,000,000 in 1978 to launch Home Depot - the do-it-yourself home improvement retailer, which today is worth over $80 billion in terms of market capitalization.

In addition to his business affiliations, Mr. Langone and his wife devote much of their time to philanthropic interests. Mr. Langone currently serves on the board of overseers of the Stern School and on the board of trustees of NYU. He is chairman of the trustees of NYU Medical School and Hospital, and serves on the board of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, The Ronald McDonald House of NY, Robin Hood Foundation, CSIS, The Medal of Honor Foundation, and the Harlem Children’s Zone. He is chairman of the Promise Academy, a charter school in New York City.