Henry Frederick Frigon
Henry "Hank" Frederick Frigon, 76, of Scottsdale, Ariz., Beaver Creek, Colo., and Westhampton Beach, N.Y., passed away at his home in Scottsdale, on June 18, 2011.
An international business executive and entrepreneur, Hank previously served as CEO of Batus Inc., a Fortune 100 company, based in Louisville, Ky., which had holdings in Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Fields, Kohl's, Farmers Insurance and Appleton Papers.
He was the first American to serve on the board of BAT Industries, of London, England. He also served as CEO of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Mo., and his early career included various financial and management positions with Masco Corp., General Housewares Corp., General Foods Corp. and Chase Manhattan Bank. His board positions included: H&R Block, Packaging Corporation of America, Dimon Corp., Iams Corp., Carstar Inc., Buckeye Technologies, Pulte Housing, Sypris Solutions and Nautilus International.
Hank earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering at Tufts University and an MBA from New York University. He also graduated from Harvard’s Advanced Management Program.
He was a member of the Business Council at the University of Notre Dame and advisor to the Vail Valley Foundation, Legatus and the American Association of the Knights of Malta. He was also a founding board member for the Spitzer Center for Ethical Leadership at Gonzaga University.
Hank was a self-made man, born to a family of modest means. He recognized his own legacy would not have been possible without having been given the gift of educational scholarships throughout his early life. The Hank Frigon Scholarship Fund has been established to honor his legacy.