Jerome York Passes Away At 71 (AAPL, F)

The Wall Street Journal reports that Jerome York, who built a reputation as a turnaround expert at Chrysler Corp., passed away on Thursday after suffering with a brain aneurysm. He was 71.

York’s death was announced by Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). He had served on Apple’s board since 1997 till earlier this month. On Tuesday night, York was admitted to Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital after suffering from a burst brain aneurysm.

York, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, was a son of an Army colonel. He completed his graduation at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. However, his career inthe military was cut short after he suffered a gymnastics injury. He went on to get an engineering degree at MIT and began his career at GM. While working at GM, York also received patents for carburetor designs. He later switched careers and moved to operations and finance. He was first hired by Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and then by Chrysler in 1979. He arrived at Chrysler when the company was facing its biggest crisis in its history.

In an interview with Automotive News in 1992, York had said, “The dullest thing in the world to do is to get out of bed in the morning and go to work where there are no significant problems to deal with.” However, at Chrysler a dull moment never came. York was named the managing director of Chrysler de Mexico in 1982. In 1997, the turnaround expert was asked by Apple to join its board of directors.