In Memoriam: Richard A. Peterson, 73
20-year career at Chase
The CAA mourns the death of its member Richard A. Peterson, on January 29, 2009. He is survived by Maritta, his wife of 40 years, with whom he had lived in Ridgewood, NJ.
Dick graduated from the University of Illinois and worked for 3M Corp. before attending the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, graduating in 1965. He then joined Chase's Special Development Program.
In 1967, Dick joined District 9 in the U.S.department that covered the West Coast. He was transferred to Los Angeles in 1973 to take over Chase's Edge Act subsidiary, which he turned into a profitable business. Around 1976, Dick was transferred to London to run U.S. multinational marketing for Europe. In London, he reported to Tony Walton, who ran Specialized Industries and Trade Finance for Europe at the time, and recalls that Dick "was great at horseshoes, throwing them in a circular fashion."
In 1978, Dick returned to New York to run the Forest Products Division in Corporate, where he remained until departing from Chase after 20 or so years to work for Midland Bank PLC, where he was in charge of Corporate Banking in the United States. In spite of several organizational changes and a merger with HSBC, Dick remained in charge of Corporate Banking in the United States until his retirement as an EVP around 1995-96.
Until his health began to fail about three years ago, Dick and Maritta traveled a great deal. Dick was an avid golfer, with memberships at the L.A. Country Club as well as Ridgewood Country Club.
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Please send your recollections of Dick or additional information to news@chasealum.org.