Jump to content

Morton Meyerson

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Morton Meyerson
Meyerson in 1956
Born(1938-06-03)June 3, 1938
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
DiedAugust 5, 2025(2025-08-05) (aged 87)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin (BA)
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse
Marlene Nathan
​
​
(m. 1964; died 2017)​
Children2

Morton Herbert Meyerson (June 3, 1938 – August 5, 2025) was an American computer industry executive who held positions in the Ross Perot–founded Electronic Data Systems and subsequently at Perot Systems and General Motors.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Ross Perot[4][1][7] paid $10 million for naming rights to Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center,[8][9] home to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.[10]

Early life and education

[edit]

Meyerson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 3, 1938, to a Jewish family.[11][12] His ancestors immigrated to the United States from Belarus.[13] His mother was a pianist and actively volunteered at the Fort Worth VA Hospital.[9][8] His father owned Meyerson insurance agency. When he was 10, Morton's brother Sandy died from cancer.[3]

Meyerson attended Paschal High School, where he played football, sang in the choir, and was senior class president.[14] He then graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and philosophy.[12] At UT, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu, Texas Cowboys, the UT chorus, and student government.[15] In 1991, he was a recipient of the Pro Bene Meritus Award presented by the UT College of Liberal Arts and in 2005 he was a recipient of The University of Texas Distinguished Alumnus Award.[16][17][18] After college, Meyerson served as an officer in the United States Army with an occupational specialty involving automatic data processing.[19][20] Meyerson served in the U.S. Army active reserves from 1963 through 1969.[21]

Career

[edit]

Meyerson began working for Bell Helicopter in 1963. He then worked at Electronic Data Systems, Inc. (EDS) from 1966 to 1971, leaving the company as President and Vice Chair leading over 50,000 employees.[12][22] In 1967, Meyerson proposed a business model that would later become known as outsourcing, and helped Ross Perot secure and execute a contract to process Medicaid claims for Texas Blue Cross Blue Shield, both of which led to major business growth for EDS.[17][23] During Meyerson's tenure as CEO of EDS from 1979 to 1985, EDS grew from a $200 million consulting business into a $4.7 billion large-scale systems consulting enterprise generating over $190 million in earnings.[19][24] In 2013 Morton was inducted into The Outsourcing Hall of Fame of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals.[17]

He was CEO of duPont Glore Forgan, a Wall Street brokerage firm, from 1971 through 1974.[21][25]

In 1984, he became the chief technology officer at General Motors. He retired in 1986 to pursue foundation work and mentoring entrepreneurs.[12] During this period, Meyerson mentored Michael Dell during the early years of Dell Computer.[12][22] He also mentored Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, as a principal investor in Broadcast.com investing $500,000 for a 10% share.[20][26]

In 1992, Morton re-joined the corporate world as Chair and CEO of Perot Systems. He retired from Perot Systems in 1998.[25] He was subsequently chairman of 2M Companies, Inc. and of The Morton H. Meyerson Family Foundation.[12][22] The foundation is the charitable giving arm for his philanthropic projects, including Dream Big, which helps provide scholarships for high school graduates in Fort Worth, and the Hilleman Scholars Program at Montana State University, for first-generation students.[11]

Meyerson served on the board of the Dallas Symphony Association and was Vice Chairman Emeritus of the National Park Foundation. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and over the span of his career he served on many governing boards, including as chairman of the Texas Super Conducting Super Collider Project.[22][17][27] In 2021, he was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame.[28][29][30]

Personal life and death

[edit]

In 1964, Meyerson married Marlene Nathan; they had two children.[11][13] The couple divorced before subsequently reconciling and remarrying, and were together until her death in 2017.[11]

Meyerson died from metastatic prostate cancer at his home in Dallas on August 5, 2025, at the age of 87.[11][13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Allen R. Myerson (September 12, 1996). "Chief of Perot Systems Steps Aside as Part of Expansion". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "David Nathan Meyerson (1967 - 1998)". March 24, 2017.
  3. ^ a b The Alcalde. November 2005. p. 52. Meyerson was born in 1938 in Fort Worth.
  4. ^ a b Allen R. Myerson (February 22, 1998). "Perot's Return to Business: The Vote's Not In". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "Morton – The Meyerson Family Foundations".
  6. ^ "MEYERSON, MICHAEL S thru MEYERSON, PEARL R". MEYERSON, MORTON H, born ABT 1939, and his bride MARLENE
  7. ^ "Ross Perot's business lieutenant since the 1970's"
  8. ^ a b Allen R. Myerson (October 11, 1998). "Yes, but Can He Whistle Dixie?". The New York Times.
  9. ^ a b "The Mort, The making of The Meyerson". D Magazine. March 2000.
  10. ^ Donal Henahan (September 12, 1989). "The Acoustics of Dallas's New Concert Hall". The New York Times.
  11. ^ a b c d e Hepola, Sarah (June 2, 2025). "Morton Meyerson stares down the end of his life, and the modern Dallas he helped build". www.dallasnews.com. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Foundations".
  13. ^ a b c "Morton H. Meyerson". Harper & Lucas Funerals & Cremations. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  14. ^ "Morton Meyerson". 2M. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  15. ^ "From Systems to Symphonies with Morton Meyerson". AFIPO. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  16. ^ "Distinguished alumnus". Communications Society. 10 (2): 5. May 1973. doi:10.1109/mcomd.1973.1145840. ISSN 0094-5579.
  17. ^ a b c d "Morton H. Meyerson | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  18. ^ "Morton Meyerson Talk: My Life as a Jew: The ways in which Jewish life influenced his career in business and philanthropy". liberalarts.utexas.edu. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Morton H. Meyerson - Leadership - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Moye, J. Todd; Meyerson, Morton H. (March 2, 2021). "Oral History Interview with Morton H. Meyerson, March 2-April 26, 2021". The Portal to Texas History. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "IAOP - The Outsourcing Hall of Fame". www.iaop.org. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d "Morton H. Meyerson – Texas Business Hall of Fame". Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  23. ^ "Morton Meyerson, Texas Businessman and Perot Lieutenant, Dies at 87". The New York Times.
  24. ^ "Meet The Fellows". towerfellows.utexas.edu. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Discussion with Morton Meyerson". Montana State University. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  26. ^ "Even the top dogs have bad days at the office". Billings Gazette. April 27, 2001. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  27. ^ "Public Talk by Mr. Morton Meyerson, CEO, 2M Companies". liberalarts.utexas.edu. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  28. ^ aframnews (November 15, 2021). "Houston businessman inducted into Texas Business Hall of Fame". African American News and Issues. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  29. ^ "Mark Cuban among 4 Dallas-Fort Worth tycoons inducted into Texas Business Hall of Fame - CultureMap Dallas". austin.culturemap.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  30. ^ "Meyerson, Cuban, Stephenson Named to Texas Business HOF - People Newspapers". November 10, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Morton_Meyerson&oldid=1305615153"