Murphy died Wednesday at his home in Rye in Westchester County. He was 96.
Murphy began his broadcasting career in 1954, leaving his brand-manager job at Lever Brothers in New York City to manage a near-bankrupt TV and radio station in Albany, New York. It may have seemed a strange decision for this Harvard MBA graduate, but it was the start of his building a new company, Capital Cities Communications, Inc., which over decades would grow into a well-known, highly successful media company with television, radio, publishing, and cable properties.
"Decentralization is the cornerstone of our management philosophy," it read."Our goal is to hire the best people we can find and give them the responsibility and authority they need to perform their jobs. Decisions are made at the local level, consistent with the basic responsibilities of corporate management... We expect a great deal from our managers... You can make mistakes, but only honest mistakes.
Murphy served on the Disney Board of Directors for seven years, from 1997-2004, and retired recently from the Board of Berkshire Hathaway, which he joined in 2003. His early jobs were as an industrial oil salesman with the Texas Company and as an account executive for Kenyon & Eckhardt. He was also appointed to three boards, those of IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and Texaco.
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Tom Murphy, longtime Capital Cities/ABC Chairman and CEO who oversaw merger with Disney, dies at 96Murphy served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Cities/ABC for 30 years and oversaw its merger with The Walt Disney Company.
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