JOHN H. HOBBS ’58

JOHN H. HOBBS, a pioneer in the investment management industry, a philanthropist avid in his support of education and civil rights, and a former Wesleyan trustee, died Jan. 3, 2010, at age 73. A member of Eclectic and a U.S. Air Force veteran, he received his bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Harvard University. In 1969 he co-founded Jennison Associates, one of Wall Street’s first independent institutional investment management firms, and in 1976 was named president and CEO. In 1994 he became chairman of Jennison, which is now a subsidiary of Prudential Financial. He retired in 2003. After the death of his wife in 2008, he returned to work and was most recently the vice chairman of Madison Asset Management Group, LLC. A tireless supporter of education, he served on numerous boards and was also the chairman of the board of Common Cents, a non-profit organization that creates and manages service-learning programs for young people, one of whose divisions is Penny Harvest, the largest child philanthropy program in the U.S. He served on the Wesleyan Board of Trustees from 1992 to 2004 and was elected trustee emeritus. Predeceased by his wife, Elisabeth Atwater Hobbs, he is survived by three children, including Margaret M. Hobbs ’89, two sisters, and a large extended family.