NIAF, or the National Italian American Foundation, elected Kenneth Langone to the foundation’s board of directors in early 2008 during an election that took place at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C.As co-founder of Home Depot, Ken Langone is seen as an expert in business and finance. His presence in the NIAF board, according to Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli, NIAF Chairman, will strengthen the board. In a press release that came out on March 26, 2008, it was revealed that other members of the NIAF board include some of the country’s best and most prominent business leaders. A non-profit organization, NIAF is committed to preserving the heritage of Italian Americans.
Ken Langone, who also has extensive exposure in philanthropy, is a member of numerous boards like New York University’s Medical School and Hospital and the Overseers of the NYU Stern School of Business. Langone has been active in the business community for over 40 years.
Born in Roslyn Heights, New York, Langone grew up in a close-knit Italian family.
Educated at Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University, Langone did odd jobs in order to help his parents pay for his education. He eventually graduated with a BA in Economics after three and a half years. In 1960, Langone received his MBA from New York University. He then went on to serve the United States military for two years.
Before making it big with Home Depot, Langone set up a deal with Electronic Data Systems, a company owned by Ross Perot. He then went on with his desire for self-study and took it upon himself to learn the ropes of the home improvement business before buying stocks in a home improvement business chain called Handy Dan.
Ken Langone became good friends with Handy Dan’s CEO (Bernard Marcus) and CFO (Arthur Blank). He eventually teamed up with the two to establish Home Depot.
Today, Home Depot has stores nationwide and employs more than 300,000 people. In 2006 alone, its earnings were estimated at $5.8 billion. It has become the world’s most popular home improvement retailer and it is mostly because of one man: Ken Langone.