Leonard H. Lavin

Leonard H. Lavin (born October 29, 1919 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American businessman, racehorse owner/breeder and philanthropist who in 1955 founded the Alberto-Culver Company.^[1] He serves as chairman emeritus of the company and is a director of the international manufacturer/distributor of personal care and household/grocery products. Lavin is also a director of Histogen, a regenerative medicine company based in San Diego, California.^[2]

Lavin studied at the University of Washington then served in the US Navy for four years.^[3] In 1947 he married Bernice Weiser, who went on to become an executive of Alberto-Culver and played an important part in the company's success.^[4] Among their philanthropic activities is the Bernice and Leonard H. Lavin Endowed Scholarship for Inner City Chicagoland Students at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois,^[5] the Lavin VentureStart programs in the Entrepreneurial Management Center at San Diego State University,^[6] and the Leonard and Bernice Lavin Entrepreneurial Action Program at the University of Washington.^[7]

Thoroughbred racing

Since the 1960s, Lavin has been involved in horse racing. He owns Glen Hill Farm in Ocala, Florida, where he breeds thoroughbreds.^[8] In 1994 he was voted the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's Florida Breeder of the Year award. Among his best-known horses are Relaunch, an outstanding sire whose daughter One Dreamer won the 1994 Breeders' Cup Distaff,^[9]

Lavin is the author of Winners Make It Happen: Reflections of a Self-Made Man.

References