Occupation Business executive Title Honorary Chairman | Years active 1978 to present Name Ronald Winston | |
Born January 10, 1941 (age 83) ( 1941-01-10 ) New York City Alma mater Harvard University, MIT, and New York University Board member of Dominion Diamond Corporation Parent(s) Harry Winston (father) and Edna Winston (mother) | ||
Ronald H. Winston (born January 10, 1941) is an American businessman, and former head of Harry Winston, Inc., his family business.
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Early life
Winston was born on January 10, 1941, in New York City. He was raised in Westchester, and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemistry in 1963. While at Harvard Winston met and became a friend of Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert. During his time in Boston he worked at MIT, where he did research on rocket propulsion. This was followed by a stint of employment at NYU in the same field. In 1961 and 1962 Winston was awarded an American Rocket Society Award for the development of a new form of rocket fuel that was safe for use by amateur rocket designers. The $1000 award donated by Chrysler was split between him and his research partner from MIT Frank Kosdon. In 1961, Winston received the award at a dinner where then Vice-President Lyndon Johnson provided a speech. He also studied English literature while attending Harvard.
In 1972 Winston co-invented and patented a method of allowing surgeons to seal sutures with ultrasonic vibrations, while working as a director of Ultrasonic Systems Inc. in Farmingdale, New York. Winston entered the family diamond business Harry Winston in his late 20s at the behest of his father, and after the death of his father in 1978, he took over running the company. Winston has also patented the Zalium alloy, which is used for turbine blades in the aerospace industry.
Harry Winston
One of Ron's efforts was to make Harry Winston more accessible to lower income consumers, officially making it a sales policy in the early 2000s. He also founded the company's jeweled watch line, and expanded it from purely traditional diamond-heavy models to additional models that were either sporty or more colorful. In addition to running the company, Winston also designs many of the jewelry pieces and watches himself, as well as approving every new jewelry design the company creates.
Other work
On June 19, 1986 Winston was appointed to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science by United States President Ronald Reagan, with a term that lasted until the end of 1988. He was also a nonexecutive director for Cluff Gold until October 2012. Now named Amara Mining, Winston owns seven percent of the company.
Personal life
Winston is the son of Harry and Edna Winston. In his free time Winston writes poetry, studies Japanese culture, and speaks Japanese. He is also a collector of diamonds and Japanese antiques.