Frank A. Weil

Frank A. Weil, 93, died on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at his home in Washington, D.C. Investment banker, philanthropist, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce, he was insatiably curious and committed to making the world a better place. Mr. Weil balanced careers in finance and government with the responsibility of running a family office that looked after the financial affairs of all his grandfather Aaron Norman’s descendants, his grandfather having partnered with Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald to build Sears Roebuck and Co.

Frank Weil was born on February 14, 1931, in Bedford, NY. He attended The Harvey School, Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1953 and Harvard Law School in 1956. Mr. Weil married the love of his life, Denie Sandison, in 1951 while they were undergraduates. The young couple moved to Mt. Kisco, NY after law school where they raised four children. He began work as a lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb and then became a partner at Loeb Rhoades & Co. He joined Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis in 1972, chairing the finance committee and rising to Chief Financial Officer. He also served as Chairman of the Committee on Taxation of the New York State Economic Development Board and Chairman of the New York State Board of Equalization and Assessment.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Mr. Weil to serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, where he worked to improve trade relations between the U.S. and Japan. After leaving the Carter Administration, Mr. Weil became a senior partner in the law firm of Ginsburg, Feldman, Weil and Bress, and subsequently Wald, Harkrader & Ross, where he worked on international trade issues.

Mr. Weil served on numerous for-profit and non-profit boards, including Geico, Paine Webber, The Educational Alliance, and the Montefiore Hospital and Albert Einstein Medical School. He also served as Vice Chair of the Asia Society, Chair of The Council for Excellence in Government, and Chair of the National Board of the Smithsonian Institution.

Philanthropically, Mr. Weil was President of The Hickrill Foundation and Treasurer of the Norman Foundation. He also served as a Trustee and Secretary of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York.

The combination of his experiences in business, government and non-profit organizations led Mr. Weil in the mid-1990s to focus on fostering innovative collaboration between the three sectors to tackle seemingly intractable problems in education, economic development, environmental protection and other areas. This thinking led him to create The Intersector Project, now part of The Aspen Institute, “intersector” being a term he coined to promote a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving. Consistent with this work, Mr. Weil and his wife founded the Frank and Denie Weil Program on Collaborative Governance at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Earlier, they contributed funds to establish the Center for Business and Government, also at the Kennedy School.

Fascinated by politics, Mr. Weil was constantly on the lookout for exciting candidates he could help. A notable example was his early support of a young senator from Illinois, Barack Obama.

Mr. Weil was an avid sailor, skier, and hiker, traveling with his wife all over the world. He and Denie particularly loved the rugged coastal town of Stonington, Maine, where they purchased Grog Island in the Deer Island Thorofare and would gather friends and family. Stonington is the site of one of the great granite quarries for America's public buildings, and the Weils, wanting to celebrate the town's history, founded the Deer Isle Granite Museum in what had been the old pharmacy on Main Street.

In addition to publishing an autobiography, “Let Me Be Frank,” at age 87, Mr. Weil became a prolific blogger, publishing over 500 essays to a wide group of friends, relatives and colleagues. He explored his interests and concerns and the humor he saw in the world around him.

Mr. Weil was married to Denie for 72 years, until she died in 2023. He leaves behind his four children: Debbie Weil (Sam Harrington) of Stonington, Maine; Amanda Weil of New York; Sandison Weil of New York; and William Weil (Tracey Stearns) of Washington, DC; plus nine grandchildren: Eliza Myers (Minor Myers III) of New Haven, CT; Timothy Harrington (Jessica Harrington) of Ann Arbor, MI; Amanda Weil Harrington, M.D. of Tampa, FL; Stearns Weil of Washington, DC; Sandis Weil of New York; Phoebe Weil of Washington, DC; Samantha Weil of New York; Rex Weil of New York and Lucy Weil of Washington, DC. And six great-grandchildren: Dorothea Myers, Cornelius Harrington, Ruth Alice Myers, Josephine Harrington, Libby Myers, and Minor Myers IV. Plus, a large void in the lives of many.